Love Hangover
by Ava Miranda Dakedavra
Summary: Remus falls head over heels in real, proper love with a girl he saw across the bar he was performing at. He hadn't expected her to become one of his best friends, or any of the insanity that would follow her. But, well, that's what he got for falling for Hermione Granger. AU, Time Travel fic
1. Chapter 1

The hard part wasn't writing the lyrics. It wasn't stumbling through notes that didn't flow together, it wasn't finding the perfect rhythm or the perfect beat. Those things, albeit hard, wasn't the difficult part. He could spend all day, all week, all year on one song and feel perfectly at ease.

No, the hardest thing was falling in love.

Lily would've laughed at him for being so poetic, for trying to make his struggles sound like a song without a key yet, but it was how he felt.

It wasn't hard in the sense that it was difficult to do - in practice it was very easy to look out across a stage, into the packed bar that he was singing to, and lock eyes with the girl in the corner who was smiling as she watched and listened to him. That was probably the easiest thing he had ever done in his life, aside from breathing.

The hard part was climbing down from the stage, with the express purpose of using all of that alcohol that was in his system to go and talk to this pretty lady, and finding her gone by the time he looked up.

"Remus?" Lily asked, a look of worry on her face as she looked up from her dinner and eyed her friend worriedly. "I asked you what you've been up to. Are you okay?"

He jerked his head back up and blinked at her. Lily Evans had been Head Girl at Hogwarts, prefect for two years before that, and had decided to begin her rebellious phase by falling in love with notorious prankster James Potter and locking him down before he flitted off to Auror training with his other friend Sirius Black. It was all terribly diabolical of her.

Lily frowned at him, flicking him in the forehead from across the table. "Is this about that Muggle bar girl? Remus. Please. You made _eye contact._"

"_James_ would understand," he countered with a pout. James understood the profound nature of an inherently romantic soul. Lily and Sirius believed in things outside of soulmates and Destiny with capitalization. Perhaps that's why James loved Lily so much. She was so horribly like his best mate with all of the right sort of genitalia he preferred.

"_James_ would help you hunt the poor girl down so you could serenade her," she rolled her eyes, "I'm talking sense into you. She was probably some bar fly who was looking for a quick shag and found one before you got to her. Also, the probability is very strong that she is a _Muggle._ We've discussed that -"

"Yes, yes, it would be ever so difficult for me to explain to a Muggle that I turn into a monster once a month and am a magical creature for the rest of the remaining days," it was Remus's turn to roll his eyes. "But Lily, that was before I met _her."_

"Oh, she's got a title now, has she?" Lily sighed, picking back at her food now. "Thought she'd remain Muggle bar girl and we'd be spared all sorts of trouble. Alas."

Remus sighed and slunk down in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting at Lily over his long finished plate. Lily was a slow eater. It had nothing to do with the fact that he got hungrier the closer it was to the full moon. Totally standalone fact.

"Also, you didn't meet her," Lily insisted around a mouthful of chicken and Caesar salad, where upon receiving she'd made her joke of _et tu, Bruté?_ as she'd speared the meal, "Again. You made _eye contact._"

"It was _love at first sight_," he persisted, gesturing wildly, even as he remained slouched. "She was _beautiful_, Lily. Like Aphrodite and - and Helen of Troy combined."

"You saw her from across a crowded bar! You had stage lights in your eyes!" Lily groaned, dropping her fork and signalling that she was done with her meal as she stood and grabbed her coat. "You saw like two percent of what she really looked like!"

"Let me _live_," he grumbled back as he stood as well, fixing the hood of his coat as they exited the tiny cafe and began to walk down the street, back towards Remus's place of business.

Ficklewhicks was a village just outside of Diagon Alley, smaller and cozier than the bustling streets and crowded stores. Remus had the lucky position of radio host at all of the awful hours of the day when nobody really wanted to listen to the radio at a "station"/record store called Spinner Station. The owner was a grouchy, cantankerous old wizard who grumbled and puttered about how horrid the new generation was, and Remus wasn't entirely sure why he was hired, especially since it wasn't a secret that he was a werewolf.

Lily, instead of walking with him to drop him off at work, gripped his elbow and dragged him instead to the bookshop.

"It'll be _quick,_" she promised at his amused, slightly reproachful stare. She then sniffed and took off to whichever subject interested her.

Remus sighed and checked his watch, deciding he'd leave in ten minutes if she didn't resurface before then, and took to browsing himself. He'd always loved books, of course, and could spend hours looking through books if left to his own devices.

He was looking through the back cover of Magical Maladies and Medicines, knowing that there would likely be nothing of use to him, when the shopkeeper called down from her ladder.

"That one's rubbish," she announced as she made her way down, a stack of books that towered above her head in one arm as she stepped down.

And poor, poor Remus could only gape at her, because the gods were smiling down upon him and there was Muggle bar girl, digging through the stack she had and presenting him with a different book and a smile.

"Oh!" she blinked upon looking at his face, and his heart began to sink into his stomach as he thought about his scars, but she smiled wider. "You sang at the bar last Friday! It was so good, tell me, did you write that or is it off of the radio that I haven't paid enough attention to?"

"Oh, I - uh - well, I wrote it," he admitted, finally taking the book out of her outstretched hand.

"It was very good," she insisted, still smiling as she tucked pieces of chestnut colored curls that had escaped her updo back behind her ear. "Can't wait to hear you on the radio."

"Thank you," he smiled back. "You actually can hear me on the radio now. Spinner Station?"

"Remus! Should I get the book about magical plant uses, or is that too on the nose with my name?" Lily asked before the girl could respond, bounding up and taking his arm as she paid no attention to his previous conversation.

"Lily, she listened to me at the bar on Friday," he said, looking at her and trying to convey that this was _her._

Lily, however, was bright as could be and blinked at the girl. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I was so rude, my fiancé, James, he tells me I need to be better about stepping in to conversations. I'm Lily!" She took her arm off of Remus to shake the other girl's hand, before grimacing and retracting it quickly as she tried to shift the books better.

"I'll be proper later, I promise," she laughed, resettling all of the books she carried across both arms.

"Hermione! Come man the other till, will you?" The owner of the bookshop called, and the girl - Hermione - nodded before waving her wand and distributing the books quickly.

"It was nice meeting you both, Lily, Remus!" She said as she passed by, turning to smile and wave, "Hope to see you again soon!"

"Bye!" Lily waved back before clutching Remus's arm again, digging her nails into his coat. "She's not Muggle!"

"Her name is Hermione," Remus murmured, a dopey grin on his face as he looked around a shelf to watch her for a few seconds before his face dropped. "Oh, fuck she's not Muggle."

"What's the problem?" Lily inquired, setting her book down on an end table and walking outside with him. "It's good she's not Muggle, it won't be a huge debacle now!"

"She knows what werewolves are, she probably already knows I am one, if she works on this street," he huffed as he mourned the loss of every hope he had of being with her.

"Don't be so negative, Sirius would smack you if he could hear you right now," Lily glared as they walked back down the street to Spinner Station. "She seemed nice and friendly enough, you never know. I think you could have a real shot with this girl, Remus."

"Thank you, Lily," he said, hugging her before departing to go to work.

"Who's that?" Mister Macgillicuddy questioned as soon as Remus opened the door into the shop.

"James Potter's fiancé, Lily Evans," he answered, just as he did every time Lily walked him to work.

Mister Macgillicuddy peered out the windows before harrumphing loudly and setting large crates of records on top of the desk where Remus sat for hours, playing different songs and speaking to mostly himself into the wee hours of the morning.

"This can't all be for tonight, can it?" Remus blinked, shrugging his coat into his chair.

"No, I want you to cast fireproofing charms on all of the records," he stated, missing Remus's quiet groan to the heavens. "Tilly's done all but these."

Portillia Dumond was a short, rather chubby woman who was covering every spare inch of her skin in tattoos, and was rather put out with her mother's choice in naming. She insisted that nobody ever wanted to hear her brothers' names, and so the entire lot of them stayed out of trouble for fear of getting their full name yelled out. She was the only other worker, and would come in usually for the mornings several hours after Remus had left. They rarely saw one another, except when they would have to switch shifts due to Remus's "furry little problem." She stated that she was alright with him so long as he was alright with the "lesbian thing," and they'd gotten along swimmingly since.

"Why bother fireproofing?" He questioned as he peered into the first crate. "Ficklewhicks hasn't seen a fire in well over a century."

"You can never be too cautious nowadays, boy," he insisted gravely, and Remus grimaced as he thought about all of the Dark Marks hanging above business in other villages.

"Right," he agreed, and grabbed the list of songs they were to be playing just as the last song for the preset list started. "I'll do that then."

"Shout if you need anything," Mister Macgillicuddy said as he moved upstairs to his flat, waving behind his shoulder as Remus affirmed that he would if he did.

"Good evening from Spinner Station, bringing you all of the Wizarding and Muggle hits of today," he announced into the microphone just as the last song was fading off. "It's just after four thirty in the evening, as I'm sure you're all aware. Most of you are getting ready to go home, and we're here to help you get the rest of the way there. Starting off is a Muggle band called Electric Light Orchestra, or ELO for short, with their song _Don't Bring Me Down_." He put the record on, turned the microphone off, and laid his face in his hands to groan.

He fireproofed the records and the cases as he worked, going so far as to even get all of the sleeves as well, he got the entire radio station set up, and was bored enough to get the till and all of the important papers that Macgillicuddy probably hadn't looked at in over a decade. All within the hour since he'd got there until he locked up the store.

He was left to sit through the songs with his feet propped up on the desk, trying to stay awake long enough to get through his shift. Normally this is where he would write songs, or doodle on his pages, or figure out some numbers for his boss, or plan out his grocery list for the week. Sadly, however, he'd forgotten to bring anything to really write with, unless he was desperate enough to use Tilly's discarded lipstick as a writing utensil.

It was a few hours alone before there was a knock on the shop's door, and Remus stopped trying to balance the records like a house of cards and perked up, wondering who could be stopping by this late.

Remus pulled back the curtain with his wand, nearly falling over himself to open the door once he saw it was Hermione with a wrapped package.

"Hi!" He said, a bit too exuberantly, but she smiled back at him anyway. "Hermione, right?"

"Yes, and you're Remus," she stated matter-of-factly, stepping inside the shop and shutting the door behind her. "Mister Morren wanted me to drop this off on my way home, he said Mister Macgillicuddy would give me something for him that I could bring in tomorrow."

"Ahh, I think I know what that is, hold on," he said before skidding back to the station to begin another spiel, something about enjoying the evening and staying safe, and here's that classic Wizarding song by Clarice Cloverfield called _Draught of Sleepless Soul_ to wind down the night with.

"I listened to you when I was closing the shop," she admitted casually as she perused the records still settled out front, completely missing Remus hit his head on the underside of the til counter. "I wasn't aware any Wizarding radio stations would play Muggle songs."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He asked, searching for a note he _knew_ had to be here somewhere, indicating what he was supposed to give to Mister Morren.

"Oh, very good!" she insisted, "My mother was a Muggle, and I was raised the same."

Remus was about to pick a question to ask before she cut him off and kept going, leaning against a table as she did so.

"My brother, Harry, was raised with me, our father was a wizard and he and our mother got into an epic row and they were divorced. They wound up patching things up when Mum discovered we were both magical, and Dad homeschooled us."

"Oh wow, sometimes I wish I was homeschooled," he insisted before she wrinkled her nose adorably and he smiled. "What? No?"

"Imagine only ever having your stubborn, reckless brother for company," she chuckled. "I may love Harry, but we're extremely different."

"Oh wait 'til you meet James and Sirius," he barked a laugh, finding the note and making his way to the coat closet where the specific box was stored. "Love them like brothers, don't get me wrong, but they're...well, I think they'd get along with Harry."

"James and Sirius…" she echoed before her eyebrows arched, "Are your friends in Auror training, by any chance?"

"Yes…?" He squinted at her before she began to laugh.

"Harry wrote to me the other day about his brand new friends, James Potter and Sirius Black," she chuckled, Remus laughing as soon as he realized the joke. "They're having fun, if you were curious."

"I'm not surprised," he grinned, lifting the box and about to settle it in her arms before he cast a featherweight charm and shrunk it down for her.

"Oh, thank you," she smiled, taking the tiny box from his hand and settling it in her coat pocket. "I'll quit bothering you and let you get back to work, I guess."

"You're hardly a bother," he insisted, "I hope to see you more often, actually."

"I would like that," she agreed with a grin, waving as she left and shut the door behind her, Remus watching her walk down the path to an Apparation point.

After a few more hours at work, which he spent with a silly grin on his face and a spring in his step, he collapsed onto his mattress in his tiny house in the middle of the woods. He breathed in deep, relishing in the quietness of his home and the woods surrounding him, and tried to remember how she'd smiled back at him as he fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't as if Remus let himself fall in love often. He'd done so one other time, and that had ended horribly where he had been forced to break it off. Apparently there were some people who had a werewolf kink and this person wanted to "be his mate" forever. It was crazy and messy and he was grateful that Sirius had helped him get rid of them and finish it off for good. But he'd never fallen in love so hard and so fast.

She began to become a part of his life so quickly, all within a few weeks. She was very nearly replacing him as Lily's best friend, and he would have to meet Lily at the bookstore rather than their usual cafe before he went to work. He quickly learned to eat something beforehand and just spend time with the brunette that had seemed to capture his heart overnight. She was bright, and witty, and full of life and he was head over heels, much to Lily's amusement. Once she'd walked with him and Lily to Spinner Station, the one time that Tilly was present, and his coworker had spent several hours of his shift bugging him and pestering him about the pretty girl that he kept making "goo-goo eyes" over and wondering if it would be rude to find out if she was straight.

"Remus!" Lily called from a table aside from their usual at the cafe, where his presence had been insisted upon. He blinked, wondering why they weren't at their perfectly good and open table by the window, and smiled when he saw that Hermione was at the table as well. "I convinced her to take a lunch break! Did you know the poor girl rarely eats once she gets to work?"

"That isn't true, Lily, and you know it!" Hermione huffed, glaring at her as Remus sat at the vacant chair to her left. "We just get so busy at this time!"

"And?" Lily cajoled.

"...and I often forget to take a lunch break afterwards," she finished with a sigh, rolling her eyes and shooting a smile to Remus. "They're training a new girl and shooed me off because she was relying on me too much."

"Aren't you the new girl?" Remus asked teasingly, grinning brightly when she stuck her tongue out and poked his arm. The waitress came and took their orders, leaving three drinks on the table before she bustled off again. "So when are the Aurors coming back?"

"They should be back Halloween night!" Lily chirped before beaming to Hermione, "I can't wait for you to meet James!"

"And Sirius," Remus tacked on as Lily flapped her hand at him, laughing at a gesture he knew would have Sirius puffing up in indignation.

"I'm eager for you two to meet Harry as well," Hermione smiled before shrugging, "I may have written about you some."

"We're honored," Remus teased, delighted when she laughed.

"Oh! Before I forget, did you hear the party Madame Majorie down the lane is throwing for all of the businesses?" Hermione asked, gesturing to a building a few streets over that was massive and typically rented out for dances or giant meetings. Remus wrinkled his nose and groaned, hitting his head on the table as the girls giggled at him. "She's calling it a block party. Guess who she wants to do the music?"

"I'll pass along the message," he sighed, face still on the table before somebody ruffled and played with his hair. He tilted, catching Hermione retracting her hand as she turned to talk to Lily some more, and knew that he'd be floating on cloud nine for the rest of the day.

If not for the fact that they'd noticed a commotion outside, and upon exiting the cafe to investigate, discovered Spinner Station erupting into flames. Remus had bolted out of the doorway and down the street, his heart hammering in his chest, and he just knew that Macgillicuddy was inside of that building.

He'd made it three steps into the inferno before the structure began to crumble and crack, and he yelled through his coughs before somebody had grabbed him by the arm and tugged him out himself.

"No! Hey, there's someone in there! There's someone in there!" Remus yelled, trying to fight off the man who had gripped him and tugged him onto the sidewalk.

"They're gone, kid! There's nothing more you can do until the fire quits burning!" He argued back, waving a Healer over to look over Remus. "I'm sorry. It's a magical fire, nothing to fix it."

Remus huffed, trying to blink the burning tears out of his eyes, turning to the Healer who hadn't even touched him, instead peering closely at the wounds. "Shouldn't you do your job?" He asked, knowing he was probably snippy but he didn't think anyone would fault him for that.

The Healer stood, scribbled some instructions onto a pad of paper and threw it towards him. "Not for a werewolf."

Remus felt his heart plummet into his stomach. Everyone who was in the area was crowded around and watching. There was no way other business owners didn't know, and there was certainly no explaining this to Hermione.

Except the tiny woman was in front of the Healer in an instant, Lily cursing as she lost her grip on her. "How dare you! Your entire job is to heal others, how dare you refuse to help Remus!"

"I don't see the point in healing werewolves, Lady," the man spat back.

"Oh fuck you!" She yelled, snatching the paper he'd thrown and pulling out her wand. "I've only known Remus for a short while, but I know that he's ten times the man you are. He just ran into a burning building, which is more than I can say for you!" She huffed as the man stomped off, turning back to Remus and Lily with her eyes ablaze. "Lily, I'm rubbish at healing spells and I'm shaking!"

"Right, yeah, got it," Lily insisted, sitting down next to Remus and taking the paper from Hermione. "Sit down, love, you need to relax."

"Relax?! How - how - " she growled, gripping at her hair so it fell out of the careful twist she normally put it in. "You shouldn't have to deal with that!"

"Hermione, I'm used to it, it's okay," Remus tried to soothe, not realizing he was about to make it worse.

"It's not okay!" She insisted, voice warbling and tears welling up in her eyes, "You're such a great person! They shouldn't - you deserve way better, Remus!"

Remus was touched that she cared at all, let alone cared enough to pitch a fuss over him. He grinned despite himself, and gently took a hand to grab her wrist and tow her over to the other side of him. "Thank you, for that. I'm sure my ego's inflated twenty times it's usual size, but it's okay. Come sit down."

She did, shaking visibly now that she wasn't pacing, and Remus kept a comforting hand on her shoulder as Lily worked to patch him up.

"Hermione, I know Remus just ran into a building in flames, but you're my hero," Lily chirped with a chuckle. "I doubt I'd have the guts."

"It's not guts, it's a stronger moral compass than most," she huffed, settling her chin in a hand and bouncing a leg. "It gets to be a bit much when something concerns my friends."

"It's appreciated," Remus stated softly, and she released a sigh before giving him a small smile. He sighed, turning to stare at the fire, rubbing his temples and trying not to think through that his boss had just perished in a fire. He grimaced when he heard the gathered crowd gasp in horror, and glanced up to see the Dark Mark hovering above. "What's gonna happen now?"

A man cleared his throat, and the three turned to look up at a teary-eyed Mister Morren. "I've contacted Phil's daughter, she's on her way down. Tilly too, she's just got to find a babysitter for her niece."

"Thank you, sir," Remus nodded.

"Hermione," Mister Morren said. "Take the rest of the day off."

She stood up abruptly, "Oh, sir, I can - "

"Absolutely not," he insisted. "Stay with your friends. We'll talk in the morning." He nodded to the three of them and went back to his store, a few of the other workers following him.

"Sounds like a happy chat to look forward to," Hermione mumbled as she retook her seat and leaned into Remus's side, Lily casting an amused glance at the pair of them.

Tilly showed up soon after, Lily relinquishing her spot as she needed to get to work as well. The woman was an ashy pale as she sat and watched the flames slowly dwindle, and she gave a big sniff before turning to Remus.

"Do you think he knew?" She asked quietly. "He had us fireproof everything."

Remus exhaled slowly, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of any of their equipment or stock. "Maybe? It does seem odd."

"He sent me home early," she whispered, "He never does that. Merlin, if I'd thought it'd be the last time I saw him -"

"- it'd be far better than the last time I saw him, I guarantee it," a woman sighed, setting her sunglasses up on her head and gazing at the wreckage with watery eyes.

Tilly and Remus gaped at her, standing abruptly to stare at her and then each other.

"I'm Elara," she introduced herself, her graying black hair held in a tight coif. "Phil McGillicuddy is...was my father."

"You're Elara Solara," Tilly whispered as Hermione stood with them. The brunette seemed confused about all the fuss, but Remus couldn't blame her for not knowing. Elara Solara was one of the biggest singers of the Wizarding world, and quite possibly his mother's favorite, although she had been a muggle and couldn't relate to most Wizarding singers. The crooner had faded into obscurity nearly a decade ago, but she was still one of McGillicuddy's favorites to play. Remus now knew why.

The woman gave a soft laugh, "Solara seemed catchier than McGillicuddy. Press seemed to think so." She turned her head to look at the building, frowning up at the Dark Mark and sighing, "Oh, Dad. What've you gotten yourself into?"

An Auror came marching up to the tiny group, confirming Elara's identity as the next of kin. "There seems to be a sign of Death Eaters at play here, ma'am."

Hermione snorted, Remus taking her arm and tugging her behind his back with a slight shush. "There's a ruddy Dark Mark in the sky, Remus, it's not rocket science," she hissed.

Elara glanced at the young woman before thanking the Auror for his hard work. She turned to Hermione and gave a soft smile, "I like you. Your name?"

"Hermione Granger," she recited.

"Are you one of my dad's workers?" Elara questioned.

"No, no, I work at the bookshop down the street," she said before wincing and turning to Remus. "I should go."

"Not by yourself, lovey!" Tilly insisted with a deep frown. "It's not safe."

"I won't take long, and your friend can take you home," Elara said before squaring her shoulders and turning to Tilly and Remus. "I plan to rebuild and reclaim my father's business, and I dearly want to keep you two on board. I'll admit, I don't know anything about the equipment or what he had in there, so I'm going to need help actually broadcasting, but you leave the managing to me. I'm going to make those Death Eaters sorry they ever stepped foot into Ficklewhicks."

Tilly shook the woman's hand with a nod, "I'm game. Remus?"

Remus glanced at the smoke, flames and the fading Dark Mark. "What time d'you want me back here?"

Tilly and Elara grinned at him, Hermione smiling as she stood off to the side. "Ten in the morning, if you can. I'll keep an eye on it tonight and make sure it puts itself out. I want it up and running again right after Dad's funeral."


	3. Chapter 3

The funeral was a small procession, with a few close friends and family that had outlived Phil. A few hours after, the radio station was proudly back up and running. Many of the things they'd fireproofed had remained, and after some polishing and a few minor repairs everything looked brand new.

The only thing left to do was to get everything set up and ready for Madame Majorie's block party, held on Halloween night. Elara was ecstatic, and had already created a set list for Tilly and Remus to play.

"We'll have one of you play the first half, and the other the last half," Elara stated simply as Remus adjusted a few wires and cables and Tilly made sure everything was playing loud and clear.

"I'll take first half," Remus said, Tilly agreeing before Elara beamed and left to go chat with Majorie.

"'Lo, Remus," Hermione chirped, totally missing him hitting his head on the underside of the table as she turned to greet Tilly. "Hi Tilly."

"Hi Hermione!" Tilly smiled, "You look cute. Festive!"

Hermione scoffed as Remus peeked out from under the table. She was wearing a pumpkin colored sweater dress, with green tights tucked into scuffed brown boots. He grinned back at her, watching as she wrinkled her nose. "Thanks, I'm changing before the party starts."

"What'd you get saddled with doing?" Remus questioned as he placed another plug into its socket. He was thankful Madame Marjorie's place had electricity, at the very least. It was more than he could say for a few of the other businesses, but they were trying.

"Decorations," she answered, "Well, the hanging decorations, anyway. Probably because we've got those ladders, if I had to guess. Anyways - I've got to get going, I was just letting you know Harry's supposed to come tonight. You'll get to meet him and Draco!"

"Sounds fu- Draco?" He paused as he tightened a screw, bumping his head again. "Who's Draco?"

"She's off, lover boy," Tilly told him, reclining against the table as he peered up at her from underneath. She had a teasing grin, and he only glared at her further. "What's that Muggle saying? You snooze, you lose?"

"She's never mentioned a Draco before," he swore, nursing the bruise forming on his noggin. "Why didn't she -? I thought we were friends, at least."

Tilly shrugged, looking unbothered. "Maybe she's one of those girls that can carry on a conversation without mentioning her boyfriend. It's unheard of, I know, but it can happen."

Remus grumbled and went back to work, soon after sliding out and standing up. Tilly caught his attention once again as he was dusting himself off.

"Remus, in all seriousness, I don't think you should give up on her," she insisted. "I've seen, for the briefest of moments, how you two are together."

"Tilly, if she's got a boyfriend, there's not much I can do," he sighed, trying hard not to let his broken heart get to him.

He double checked everything before going home to shower, change and get ready. Once the party had officially begun, he was settled behind their equipment, Elara checking on him every fifteen minutes before rushing off to keep Tilly from getting drunk before her shift.

He caught sight of Hermione, with her hair down and wearing a white dress with a sheer cardigan, chatting to a tall, blond man dressed in black. She kept popping up on her toes, presumably looking for her brother, before righting herself and resuming conversation with who could only be Draco.

He tried very hard not to let it bother him, but he doubted he was doing a great job, since Tilly had wandered up to the makeshift stage he was perched on at the end of his shift with a plate full of food.

"Comfort food," she said, scooting him away and claiming his seat.

"I don't need to be -" he cut himself off with a sigh, shoving a roll in his mouth and giving her a muffled thanks as he moved to find somewhere to sit and eat.

He sat unbothered for a few minutes, hanging out behind a large potted plant, before Hermione surprised him and stood in front of him.

"Hey," she called, heard just over the loud music, smiling as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "You did great, up there."

He swallowed his mouthful and gave a half-hearted grin, "Thanks." He watched her nod before she fidgeted with her hands and scanned the crowd again. "Everything okay?"

She bit her lip before moving to sit next to him, hoping to be heard better. "Have you heard from your Auror friends? Harry's supposed to be here by now. I'm getting kind of worried. Draco's worse off."

Remus blinked, checking his watch and frowning. He recalled Lily mentioning cooking dinner and having it ready for James once he returned, and it was nearing eleven by now. If her brother had promised to be there, he was running about five or six hours late.

He stood, perching his plate on the plant and helping her from the floor. They marched off down a few hallways until they found the Floo grates connected to the lobby, Remus calling out in one as she fidgeted next to him.

"Department of Magical Law Enforcement, how may I help you?" a nasally voice questioned.

"Hi, this is Remus Lupin speaking, is there any chance Auror Sirius Black or James Potter are there?" He asked.

"One moment," they responded, a long pause before another voice hopped on the line.

"Hey, Moony, what's up?" Sirius greeted, knowing it was unusual for Remus to fire call at all.

"Hey, I need a favor," he said before grinning, "Also, welcome back." Sirius chuckled. "Any chance you know what happened to a friend's brother? He's running late to this block party. Harry Granger?"

If it weren't for his powerful hearing, he wouldn't have heard Sirius's curse under his breath. But apparently Hermione had also heard, and was at Remus's side in an instant.

"Sirius, what's happened to my brother?" She demanded, growing more anxious at his silence before huffing. "Stand back, I'm coming through."

"Right behind you," Remus said, following her through the fire and wincing when he saw Sirius's disheveled appearance and grimace. "What happened, Padfoot?"

"Well, we got back and there was this raid, all three of us volunteered to go," he winced, and he heard Hermione take a shaky breath.

"That idiot," she hissed.

There was a separate commotion going on, and they turned to see the blond man from the party marching towards them.

"What'd he do?" Draco asked, eyes narrowed in on Hermione.

"He's at Mungo's, I was about to grab some paperwork for me and James to fill out, I'll go with you," Sirius said.

The four of them returned to Mungo's, where after a few flights of stairs and a couple of wrong turns down the hallways, they found James arguing with the Healers out front of a door.

"I'm his sister, what's going on?" Hermione asked as the Healers turned to her.

"We've discovered a cloaking ring," one said, looking down his beaky nose at her. "We were questioning the Auror's use or knowledge of this ring."

Hermione and Draco both tensed as James rubbed his eyes under his glasses.

"They won't tell us anything until they found out why he's got that ring," James explained.

Immediately, Hermione squared her shoulders, "Probably the same reason I've got mine."

"Hermione," Draco hissed, silenced by her glare as Remus turned to stare at her.

The Healers rounded on her, glaring her down. "We can't take the ring off ourselves, due to the enchantments present, so why does Mister Granger have this ring?"

She glared back, taking off her cardigan and tossing it on the ground. She unbuttoned the first few buttons of her dress as all of the men tried to stop her. Once most of her sternum and chest was showing, she ripped off the ring and threw it at their feet.

Remus watched as dozens of scars appeared on her skin, some along her jaw and neck and a thick, white one crossing her breastplate. She lifted her arm to show off the word mudblood torn into her skin.

"Same reason I've got mine," she insisted, her throat thick as tears swam in her eyes.

The Healers stared at her for a moment or two, before the elder one with the beaky nose sighed. "He's got a mild concussion and a few broken ribs. He's out right now, but we foresee him awaking before morning."

"Thank you," she whispered, releasing a shaky breath once they walked off.

"Why the hell did you -?" Draco insisted as she gathered her ring and her cardigan and gripped the front of her dress shut.

"They wouldn't have told us anything otherwise," she said, head bent towards the ground. "Go check on Harry. I'll be back." She took off down the hallway at a brisk pace, Sirius gaping at Remus as James scrubbed the back of his neck and looked at his shoes.

"What has your girlfriend gone through?" Sirius asked, his tone akin to horror.

"She's not my - " Remus insisted, glancing to Draco nervously. "Ask him."

Draco arched a pale brow as the two Aurors and the werewolf looked to him. "I'm not dating her, so I refuse to speak for her. Harry, however, got the better end of it, compared to her."

James blinked, "So you and Harry -?"

Draco exhaled slowly, giving a jerky nod before escaping into the room.

Remus swallowed thickly, ruffling up his hair before starting down the hall. "I've got to check on her, I'll be back."

He found Hermione in a sort of family room, meant to give the patient's families some time to gather themselves during difficult moments. Hermione was struggling to button her dress as she held everything, growing more and more frustrated.

"Here, hand me those," Remus insisted, gently taking the cardigan and the ring. She jumped at first before nodding, fixing her dress in silence before taking the cardigan back.

He regarded the ring, a slim silver band with the tiniest of diamonds inset into it. He shifted it in his palm, and saw the faintest glimmer of magic. "Why didn't you tell me?" He wasn't sure why those were the first words out of his mouth, but they were out now.

She halted with the cardigan in her hands, staring down at her arm. "I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for me. Or ask too many questions."

"And you think I wouldn't understand that?" Remus asked, scoffing as he waved at his own face, "Me? The werewolf?"

"You're so much more than that, Remus," she insisted, voice growing thick as she fought the urge to cry. "I'm just - as soon as anyone finds out why - that's all they'll see."

He wrapped her up in his arms, gripping her tight as she tried to regain her composure against his chest. "That's nonsense. You're a smart, funny, talented, brilliant woman. Not to mention flat out gorgeous. Anyone that sees a bunch of scars on your skin doesn't deserve your time."

She held him tight, her head tucked up under his chin. She was silent for a few more moments before she sniffed and slowly pulled away from him. "I promise I'll tell you...one day."

He took his thumb to wipe a fallen tear from her face, tucking hair behind her ear as he smiled softly back at her. "And I'll be ready to listen."

She smiled back at him, carefully, as if she were afraid the movement would hurt her. She sighed, looking back down at the ring and shifting it in her hands before she gently grabbed Remus's wrist. She opened up his palm, tucking the ring into it and closing his fingers into a fist around it.

"Until I'm ready to talk, until I get used to being in my own skin again, I want you to hold onto this for me," she said, brown eyes shining up at him. "Please?"

"For you? Of course," he smiled back, wrapping an arm around her and tucking the ring into his pocket. "Let's go see your brother, okay?"

Upon entering his hospital room, Harry was just beginning to sit up, against a hovering Draco's quiet murmurs. Hermione sagged with relief against Remus, glad to see Harry okay, before she slowly parted from him and went to nudge Harry back into the bed.

"Where's your ring?" Harry croaked, squinting against the light, his messy chestnut hair sticking up in the back just like James's did.

"Took it off," Hermione said lightly as she continued to nudge Harry back into bed, Draco gathering a couple more blankets, one to add onto Harry's bed at the foot and the other to drape over a chair for Hermione.

"'M sorry," he muttered, trying to fight against the medicine the healers had put him on.

"Not your fault," Hermione murmured, brushing Harry's hair out of his face.

Remus turned to Sirius and James, who were each leaning against the doorway and sharing identical glances of guilt.

"Is too," Harry insisted, "I wanted to go. Tried to miss yer party."

Hermione took in a sharp breath of air, and Draco exhaled in a growl.

"You went on an impromptu mission, the exact day you got back from training, just to miss your sister's work party?" Draco seethed, gripping his hair tightly as Hermione stood abruptly, jaw clenched and a fire in her eyes as the Marauders each gulped and decided to step out into the hallway.

"You could've gotten yourself killed, Harry!" Hermione shouted, voice catching. "Do you have any idea what - how - Draco and I would be crushed."

"I know," Harry croaked, perching up on his elbows. "I'm sorry, Hermione. S'all my fault. I'll make it up to you - both of you."

Draco sighed, nudging him back down, "Go to sleep. You can apologize and pay us back in the morning."

Harry nodded, Hermione waiting for Draco to join her in the hallway with the other three.

"Honestly," Hermione growled before whirling on Sirius and James, "Did you two have any idea about this?"

"Honest to Merlin, we did not," Sirius insisted, eyes wide. "We all just wanted to get out in the action."

"The next time you want action, please think about all the people you could leave behind," Hermione hissed before turning to stomp down the hallway, more than likely to cool off.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Draco said as Remus made to follow her. "She's gonna break things. Rather it not be you."

Remus paused before nodding, "Thanks."

Draco appraised him quietly, "So, you're Remus?"

"Yes?" He responded with skepticism.

"Hmm," was all Draco said before he continued, "She's mentioned you, Lily, and some woman named 'Tilly' a dozen times every day."

"Oh my fuck, Lily," James gasped suddenly, "I gotta go, bye guys!" He quickly took off down the hallway, Sirius snorting and patting Remus on the back as he made his way out as well, making promises to hang out soon.

"Is it a bad thing she's mentioned me?" Remus questioned.

"It's...interesting, to say the least," Draco said, finally grinning about something, but it seemed as if it were like he knew something Remus didn't. "Funny you're the first person she sought out in her panic to find Harry."

He shrugged, not sure why he was feeling interrogated or embarrassed, "Why is that notable?"

"I went straight to the Aurors," Draco pointed out. "And she went straight to you." He could see that he'd given Remus enough to think about, and turned back to the hospital room with a hum. "Nice to meet you, Remus. Thanks for all your help. I'm sure we'll all see each other again soon."


	4. Chapter 4

Remus went home shortly after, staring at the ring in his possession and trying very hard to not think about the dirty word carved into Hermione's skin. It was difficult, but he slept a decent amount, crawling out of bed to meet Lily and hopefully Hermione at the café before his shift at work.

Hermione, instead, was waiting out in front of the Apparation point for him, tackling him in a hug as soon as she saw him.

"Thank you so much," she muffled into his coat, squeezing tightly as he untangled his arms to wrap around her. "For everything."

He laughed, squeezing back once before releasing her, "What're friends for?" He arched a brow at her as they started walking, "How long were you waiting there for me?"

"Two hours," she teased, "I've hugged three strangers until I got to you."

He scoffed, bumping her with his shoulder and getting her to laugh. "How's Harry?"

"He's fine, got released early this morning," she said, "Draco sent me home not long after you lot left."

"How's Hermione?" He asked lightly, smiling when he saw her quirk a grin back at him.

"Hermione's fine," she promised.

"Good," he nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulders again and giving another squeeze, smiling when he heard her pleased hum.

They halted directly outside of the cafe, because they saw Lily, sitting at their usual table, and chatting with none other than Harry Granger. Hermione gave a frustrated growl and ripped open the doors with more force than necessary, Remus following carefully behind.

"Hermione!" Harry beamed at his sister, Lily smiling across the table from him. He leaned around his sister and nodded to Remus, "'Lo, Remus!"

"Err, hi," he nodded back, fidgeting with the strap of his bag as Hermione crossed her arms across her chest.

"What're you doing here, Harry?" She questioned with a slight frown.

"I explained how stupid I was to Lily last night," he said casually as he stood and offered his sister the seat. She hesitated before sitting, peering over her shoulder at him. "Seeing as the whole point of me going to the party was so I could meet your friends, I feel horrible. Draco pointed out I could make it up to you by meeting them properly, so - "

"So you decided to crash my standing lunch date with them to get it out of the way?" Hermione snarked.

"Thought of that," Harry sighed, "Draco said no." He brightened considerably and set his hands on her shoulders, "I've invited all of your friends, and mine, 'round to the house on Saturday night, where I will be the one cooking and cleaning and meeting them all."

Hermione blinked back at him before huffing, "Remus has work at night, Harry, that's not -"

"Not that you should put everything on hold for me," Remus interjected, "Elara's got me and Tilly on weekdays now, she's hired a couple of new people to do weekends. I'm free, is what I'm saying."

"Brill!" Harry cheered before pecking Hermione on the cheek, "See you all then, I've got to get going!"

"Absolute prat," Hermione muttered as Remus finally sat down.

"I thought it was a lovely gesture," Lily blinked.

"A good gesture, but that's all it is," Hermione explained. "Draco or I will be the ones cooking and cleaning, because Harry is pants at both. He can make bacon pretty decently, but that seems to be it."

"Well, he seemed genuinely sorry about last night, at least," Lily shrugged, "I was right pissed at James when he finally came home, but he explained what had happened. Harry came by to apologize himself to me and offer me an invitation."

Hermione sighed, nervously twisting an earring. "We haven't had anyone over since we came here, I'm nervous to see how it'll pan out."

"It'll be fine," Remus chided, taking her hand from bothering her ear and setting it down on the table. He soon released it to shrug out of his coat, "Not like it'll be a big gathering."

"Oh, Remus!" Lily gasped, grabbing his sweater sleeve and tugging. "We should invite them to New Year's!"

"You haven't met Draco yet," Hermione monotoned, "I'd hold off on that. He's an...acquired taste."

"Doesn't mean we still can't invite you," Remus said with a smile. "James and Sirius host a giant New Year's Eve party every year, practically everyone from our graduating class gets invited."

"It'll be fun!" Lily insisted, although Remus was eyeing the way Hermione nervously bit the inside of her cheek. "Now, let's order, I'm starving."

Remus and Sirius agreed to go to the Grangers' together, seeing that Lily and James would be showing up together, and that neither of the two wanted to be the first to arrive.

Which left Sirius ample time to ask Remus all of his questions.

"How long have you been friends with this girl? Hermione?" He asked as they walked down the street, crunching leaves as they went.

"Oh, a few months?" Remus hummed.

"Uh-huh - how long you been in love with her?" He grinned at Remus's determined gaze on their path. "That long too, huh?"

"Look, Lily's taken the mickey out on me plenty, and so has Tilly, so I don't need you having a go at me too," Remus huffed.

"Why? She's pretty, you've got great taste," Sirius insisted as they neared the house, a yellow-sided second story house in the middle of Muggle suburbia. "If you're not keen on asking her out any time soon, mind if I - ?"

"Don't," Remus said vehemently, frowning at his friend before sighing at his smirk. "I'm...waiting. I don't know if she feels the same so…." Sirius cut him off with a hum, and a nod, and knocked on the door.

"It's open!" a few voices shouted, and they blinked at each other curiously before stepping inside to complete and utter chaos.

Furniture had been toppled, pages and books laying in shambles in the sitting room off to the side. It looked like a basket of laundry had been upended on the staircase, and it seemed as if an entire marching band had squeezed itself into the kitchen down the entrance hall judging by the sounds.

"Shut the door!" Harry instructed as he skidded past, coming from what could've been an office door and rushing back into the kitchen with a basket. "Also, hi!"

"What's going on?" Sirius asked as he followed, Remus gently putting his jacket onto the coat rack before entering. Pots, pans and different food items had been strewn about, and Hermione was currently getting up onto the table, holding the basket Harry had given her and easing her way slowly up to the tiny chandelier, where a cat was yowling and howling atop.

"Harry brought home a cat," Draco spat, poised at the back door and waiting for his cue.

"Hermione loves cats," Harry hissed his defense.

"Not feral ones," she whispered, holding her breath as she held her wand aloft and gently eased the basket underneath the cat. In one quick motion, she'd scooped the cat into the basket, slammed a pot lid on top of it, and passed it off to Draco, who'd opened the back door and quickly set the basket, cat and lid outside to shut the door. Once that was done, the three seemed to breathe easier before settling their gaze on the kitchen.

"I can order pizza," Harry insisted. "I can run and get it."

"You - ooh," Draco huffed, glaring at him. "Do that. Now. Go." Harry gulped, grinned sheepishly at him, and squeezed between Sirius and Remus to head out of the front door.

Remus quietly stepped up to the table, helping Hermione get down as she sighed and tugged a pasta noodle out of her hair. "Well, welcome to our home!" she said, chipper and grinning as she clapped her hands. Upon further inspection, she was covered in tomato sauce and a few other noodles, and her arms featured a few scars where the cat had managed to scratch her.

Draco sighed, hands in his hair as he stared at the mess, blinking as everything began to levitate and sort itself out, the sink filling up with water and soap and a couple of rags at the ready. He turned to Sirius, who nodded back at him, and gave a small smile of thanks.

"What sort of idiot decides to bring home an obviously feral cat?" Draco huffed, flicking off bits of lettuce and other vegetables. Compared to Hermione, he seemed to have gotten the better mess to clean off.

"Your idiot," Hermione sniffed, grimacing as she examined her sweater. "I don't claim him."

"He's your brother," Draco pointed out.

"He's your boyfriend," she insisted, "You chose him."

"I'm so glad we had this weekend free," Sirius spoke up, grinning from ear to ear as he took a seat at the table. "Do all Grangers come as free entertainment?"

"Just those two," Draco said, frowning down at Hermione's appearance. "Go change. You smell like a spice market."

"Right," she sighed, offering a small smile to Remus as he tried to hide his smile behind his hand. "Be back in a mo', don't let Draco scare you off."

"Hardly," Remus scoffed, Draco rolling his eyes as she disappeared down the hall, making noises of complaints when she saw the messes there.

"Nice place, once you deal with the feral cat situation," Sirius mentioned as Draco carefully opened the back door, retrieving the basket and the pot lid and setting the latter into the sink.

"Harry and Hermione's," Draco said with a shrug. "I moved in shortly after they got it, but I can't lay claim to having a say with the place."

"How long have you known the two?" Remus questioned, sitting at the table beside Sirius.

"Feels like forever," he shrugged, leaning against the counter tops and setting the basket off to the side. "I've been dating Harry for almost a year, though. I think." He screwed his mouth up in thought, and shrugged again. "We grew up near each other, I didn't realize they knew magic until years later. Started talking to Harry afterwards."

"I take it you didn't handle Auror training well, then?" Sirius offered with a grin.

"Hated it," Draco said primly as he sat up on the counter, wearing black trousers and a navy button up. "All I had to look forward to was Hermione finally gracing me with her presence, which all she ever talked about were books and Remus and Lily."

"A very fine subject matter, thank you," Hermione huffed at the doorway, wearing a soft looking maroon sweater and navy skirt, to which Draco appraised before conceding the point to her. "Sorry, about...all of that," she gestured to the whirlwind that had greeted them, and Sirius scoffed.

"Our get togethers are far less controlled, I assure you," Sirius insisted, and Remus grimaced in affirmation, thinking of the first New Years' party just after they'd graduated. But, Sirius wasn't done, and reclined in his seat as he gave a slow grin. "A bit more wild, I think. Animalistic, if you will." Remus shot him a glare, and Hermione actually snorted.

"Are you making werewolf jokes?" she asked in amusement, to which Draco groaned upon discovering his puns. "Terrible ones, too, which earns you no points."

"Just wondering if you knew," Sirius chuckled, dodging Remus's jabs to his ribs poorly. "Surprised you didn't run screaming for the hills, like most girls."

"Most girls? Hermione? Hardly," Draco scoffed, and it was Hermione's turn to glare at her companion. "You're hardly part of the flock, Granger, don't look at me like that."

"I'll look at you however I deem fit, you great big prat," she huffed, and the front door slammed shut.

"Stop fighting! I've got pizza and Potters!" Harry announced, leading the couple into the kitchen as he held the pizza boxes aloft.

"Pizza!" Sirius and James chorused as Lily laughed and grabbed Hermione to take a seat between her and Remus, who was smiling at her as she huffed and let the argument drop.

"Alright, I've got cheese, pepperoni - mostly the basics, although there is one overflowing with mushrooms for those with no taste," Harry declared, already passing said pizza to Draco, who spluttered and scoffed as he got plates out for everybody.

"Mushrooms are the best pizza topping, you uncultured - " Harry stopped him with a peck to the cheek and scooting him into an open seat beside Sirius.

"Yeah, yeah, you prefer to live in the height of luxury and mushrooms go with that," he insisted, laughing a little as he took a seat himself, everybody helping themselves to pizza and passing boxes and plates around the table. "So, what started the Draco and Hermione argument this time?"

"Mentioned Remus's furry little problem," Sirius shrugged casually, although Remus forcefully exhaled. "Said Hermione didn't run for the hills like most girls, which brought about the conversation about how Hermione wasn't like most girls."

"There's nothing wrong with being like most girls," Hermione insisted with a huff, dropping her pizza to her plate so she could gesture. "The entire notion of setting yourself aside from the majority of your gender in order to be seen as 'More' in the eyes of the patriarchy is downright absurd, and girls should not be pitting themselves against each other."

"Hell yes!" Lily agreed vehemently, punching the table to emphasize her excitement. "Girls are badass, we should be celebrating each other rather than fighting each other!"

"Shall there be a bra-burning ceremony after or before dessert?" Sirius drawled, before he got napkins thrown into his face. "Kidding! Women are badass and scary, and you two prove it! Merlin!"

"Should've kept your mouth shut, Sirius," James muffled through his mouthful, although he hid it behind his napkin as he looked dully across the table at his friend.

"And I shouldn't have brought it up," Harry laughed, chowing down on his own pizza, looking as if Christmas had come early for some reason.

"Anyways, since we're all okay talking about it, we hanging out this full moon, Moony?" James asked once he swallowed, looking up at his friend brightly.

"Moony?" Hermione echoed with a blink, turning to look at Remus before the three friends burst into laughs, Remus being quick to assure Hermione that they weren't laughing at her, even as he continued to laugh.

"They've got nicknames for each other, like they're in some weirdo club," Lily explained while they managed to simmer down into chuckles. She shook her head fondly, even as she rolled her eyes. "Kind of cute, but it was cuter when they were wee little firsties."

"We're adorable, Lily, how dare you," Sirius accused through his laughs.

"Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Worm -" James cut himself off, and the other two ceased laughter before he coughed into his fist, Lily wincing along with them. "We called ourselves the Marauders. Kind of barmy, talking about it outloud, but...sort of our inside thing."

"Worm?" Draco questioned, looking to Harry as he looked around the table, reading the new vibe in the room. "Who was Worm?"

"Well, err, Wormtail," Remus began, glancing between Sirius and James before deciding they needed to talk about it. "Was our friend. In school. He's rather not, anymore."

"I'd say," Sirius grumbled darkly.

"You remember when we were just starting training?" James asked, turning to Harry, with a sad sort of smile. "Sirius and I made a commotion one night before dinner, and Alastor Moody had to talk to us in his office?"

"Sounds normal, honestly," Lily chuckled, Remus and Sirius smiling back at her.

"Yeah, what about it?" Harry asked, Draco remaining silent as he ate his pizza.

"We, err, heard about that friend getting caught in a Death Eater raid. As a Death Eater," Remus answered for James, the table going silent, Remus catching the movement of Hermione covering her arm under the table. "It's a touchy subject."

"I'll say," Draco murmured before drawing himself back up in his chair with a sniff. "People are shit, sometimes."

"Eloquent," Hermione scoffed, albeit fondly, before sighing. "Sometimes...people can change. Not always in the best way."

The table was quiet once more, each group of friends sharing looks before James huffed.

"This is way too deep for a first hang out," he decided, waving a flippant hand before he stretched his arm across the back of Lily's chair. "This sort of thing is reserved for the second hang out, at least. Now, what was this I heard about a feral cat?"

Harry groaned, setting his head in his hands, and that immediately got the table laughing again.

The rest of the night went well, with the seven of them traveling further into the Muggle village to get ice cream, despite the blustery fall wind that kept trapping leaves into Hermione's hair.

"What's bubblegum taste like?" Sirius whispered as he stared into the refrigerated space, with little placards placed against the glass.

"Like bubblegum," Hermione whispered back before Remus could answer, smiling cheekily back at him as he began to laugh and Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Ooh, they have orange sherbert here," Lily gasped, tucked neatly into James's side.

Draco stood a few inches away from Harry, giving the young couple an envious sort of smile before making his way to Hermione and standing beside her.

"Oh, are you the two siblings down the lane?" one of the ladies seated by the window questioned as she fed her young son a scoop of ice cream.

"Yeah, that's us," Harry answered, turning to speak to her as Lily and James scooted up to allow him room.

"'Lo," Hermione waved.

"Such a handsome young man you have there, miss," her husband said with a cheeky wink, "A fine couple you two make."

Hermione blinked, looking at Draco, Sirius, and Remus before finally nodding and saying, "Thank you." Sirius snorted his laughter quietly behind her, which Remus shushed him for.

"She's not dating him," another patron in line behind them scoffed, glaring daggers at Draco before spitting on the floor near him, making him flinch and step away. "Fucking fa - "

"I wouldn't," Hermione interrupted sharply, an eager smile on her face as she stared the man down. "I dearly wouldn't, if I were you."

"Hermione," Harry cautioned, glancing around the ice cream shop as it grew quiet.

"It's alright, Hermione," Draco murmured.

"It's not," Sirius announced, standing beside her with his arms crossing over his chest, glaring at the man too.

"C'mon, Hermione, let's get everyone out of here," Remus said, offering her his hand before she huffed, took it, and glared at the man as she was lead out of the store, Lily and James following Sirius as Harry and Draco led the way out.

"Sooo - who's up for Florean Fortescue's?" James remarked, settling his hands in his coat pockets.

"You lot go ahead," Draco said, smoothing down his jacket as he exhaled shakily. "I'm going to...to head home."

"I'll go too," Harry insisted, taking Draco's hand steadily.

"No, Harry - "

"Nah, we get it," James urged, nodding the two along, "We'll watch after Hermione, get her home in one piece."

"Of course," Lily said, wrapping an arm around her friend, Remus still keeping a gentle grip on her as well. "Unless you want to go too?"

Hermione looked between Harry and Draco before shaking her head, "Nah, I'm fine heading out with you all. Lock the doors and check the wards, alright?"

"Alright," Draco said coolly, he and Harry saying their goodbyes before taking off down the lane, Hermione turning to watch the doors of the ice cream shop carefully before huffing.

"Small-minded people, love," Sirius said, patting her shoulder as he draped himself over Remus. "Now come on, I'm craving a sugar high right about now."

"Like you need the help," Remus scoffed, he and Lily walking with Hermione safely in their grasp.


	5. Chapter 5

Adjusting to having the Aurors back in town did throw a kink in their carefully laid lunch plans, as often James would want to spend time with Lily before his shift, or Harry would insist that he treat Hermione to coffee before her shift, or Sirius would take it upon himself to insert himself into their tiny group.

"I love the three of them, but Merlin," Lily sighed as she sat down at the table that, blessedly, only had Remus and Hermione. "They're all so - so - "

"Extroverted?" Remus offered as he scribbled something into the margins of his notebook. He was training one of the newer blokes on handling the night shift himself, and knew he'd do better if Remus gave him a list.

"Extroverted works," Hermione mumbled, hands cupped around a mug of tea before she turned her head to cough into her shoulder, Remus casting her a glance before Lily blinked.

"You alright, love?" she asked, taking off her coat and scarf.

"Fine," Hermione lied smoothly, although Remus was scrutinizing her, taking note of her pale skin. "Just allergies."

"Then why the tea?" Remus questioned.

"I'm British," Hermione said with a slight glare, "I'm allowed tea."

"Yeah," he nodded, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "But you're drinking lemongrass and ginger with...honey?" Hermione blinked, and he gave a cheeky grin. "My sense of smell is spectacular. I noticed Lily changed her shampoo three weeks ago to lavender and mint."

"And you didn't say anything? Prat," Lily huffed, although she grinned when Remus chuckled. "How long have you been feeling under the weather, Hermione?"

"A few days," she sighed, setting down the mug and pressing her fingers to her temples, slumping against the table. "Harry got me caught out in the rain when we went to get coffee, and I've felt crummy ever since."

"Why don't you go home, Hermione?" Remus suggested softly.

She sighed, pressing her hands over her face and groaning. "The boys won't know how to handle it, me being sick, plus I know they've been wanting some quality time and Harry's got a few days off this week. Also, I've missed you guys."

"We miss you too, but your health comes first," Lily insisted, standing and taking Hermione's hands to drag her up from her seat, gathering their coats and scarves. "Remus? Could you - ?"

"I'll tell Mister Morren she won't be coming in," he said with a nod, packing up his own things and nodding to their usual waitress, who was looking on in slight concern at the way Hermione teetered against Lily.

"Remus and I will bring you soup after we both get off work, what's your favorite?" Lily asked as she wrapped both of the scarves around Hermione's neck, even as she weakly struggled and complained.

She huffed, tugging the fabric away from her mouth a bit, and said, "Potato. Chicken noodle is slimy to me."

"Duly noted," Remus said, walking outside with them before saluting her cheekily. "We'll be by around five, five thirty at the latest."

"I thought you were training someone tonight?" she questioned with a blink, Lily looping her arm around Hermione's waist and preparing to Apparate.

"He can hold down the fort for an hour or so, surely," Remus scoffed, lightly taking off his beanie and tugging it onto her mass of brown curls, grinning at how cute she looked when she was pouting at him in it. "Focus on getting better, alright? Lunches aren't the same without all of us, you know."

She sighed, nodded, and they disappeared with a pop.

Remus made quick work of informing Mister Morren of Hermione's absence, which he understood completely and passed along his well wishes, and stepped into Spinner Station to quietly set his things down beside where Tilly was wrapping up her broadcast.

" - and remember, when you need to clean, think of the amazing products sold by Wonder Witch," she finished, hand already poised on a dial as Remus perched against the desk. "Now, for the ever popular song by a band we all know and love, here's Anti-Love Potion by Maggoty Haggis." She clicked the dial, flipped a switch, and pressed a button, the song's angry guitar filling the small room before she turned the volume down and looked to Remus.

"Have you got a hunky friend?" she asked.

Remus blinked, "I'd like to think you'd find me attractive if you suddenly swung that way, Tills."

She scoffed and he laughed, dodging her swatting hand as she shooed him off of the desk. "Not in a million years, and besides. You're all Hermione's."

He flushed, but said nothing, pulling up one of the spare chairs they'd been using when training the new guys. "What sort of hunky friend?"

"Tall, pale, high cheekbones, long black hair and the most gorgeous grey eyes," she answered, and Remus blinked as he rested his arms against the back of the chair. "Stop sitting in chairs that way, you and your gangly limbs. Someone's gonna round the corner and trip over them."

"I'm not gangly," he defended with a huff, "And that sounds like Sirius. Why?"

"He was here," she said with a shrug, "Said you needed to start taking Hermione home at night, when the both of you close up the shops."

"Why?" Remus asked before narrowing his gaze upon her. "Is he matchmaking? I hate it when he meddles."

"He mentioned something about our lovely local bookstore being brought up in the Death Eater community," she said, a frown marking her face as Remus grew silent. "He heard what happened to McGuillicuddy, and he knows that Mister Morren was longtime friends with him."

"They're both extremely anti-Death Eater," Remus said with a sigh, setting his chin against the chair and frowning. "Well, I don't need to worry about Hermione tonight, she's home sick and her brother the Auror's there. I'll convince her to let me once she's feeling better, but no promises."

"Oh please," Tilly said as she listened carefully to the tail end of the song, hand poised on the dial again. "Hermione is a girl, just like the rest of us. If someone we fancy asks us to suddenly spend more time with them, why in the world would we say no?" Remus opened his mouth to object, but quickly shut it with a glare when she clicked the dial and gave him a cheeky grin. "Thanks ever so much for listening in with us at Spinner Station, where we bring you all of the amazing hits of the Muggle and magical world!"

Remus dutifully trained the new guy, Fergus, and entrusted him with his notes once it came time to meet back up with Lily and see Hermione.

"Where're you off to, again?" he asked, scratching his head as he peered down at Remus's notes.

"Bringing soup to Hermione," Remus said as he put on his coat, halfway wondering if Fergus had ever even met Hermione, or if he and Tilly just talked about her so much. "She's gotten sick, and mentioned her brother not knowing how to take care of her."

"Ah," Fergus nodded, with the sense of someone who had remembered something they'd forgotten, and now considered themselves an idiot. "Right, Hermione. Yer girlfriend."

Remus sputtered and coughed, tugging at the collar of his coat even though it was sitting perfectly fine. "Well, er, no, she's not my girlfriend."

Fergus blinked, "Tilly said she was."

"Tilly's a big fat liar who I will be talking to," he huffed, although he could tell his face was red.

"Tilly said you're head over heels for the gal," Fergus supplied, as if Remus could've ever forgotten that he was dating Hermione.

Remus grimaced, looking heavenward and wincing. "She's...not...wrong."

"Ohhhh," Fergus intoned, leaning back in the desk chair as Remus inspected his shoelaces. "So, she's not yer girlfriend, but you wish she was."

"I'm going to go get soup now," Remus declared, turning on his heel and marching out the door as Fergus's guffaws echoed behind him. He sighed, Apparating to Godric's Hollow, where James perked up from the couch.

"Remus!" James exclaimed, happy to see his friend even as he plopped onto the couch beside him with a groan. "Rough day at work?"

"Not necessarily," he sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "Is my crush on Hermione that obvious?"

James crossed his legs, settling his elbow on his knee and perching his chin in his palm as he hummed, "Well, you aren't as loud as I was about mine with Lily, but to those that know you well? It's so obvious."

"Is that Remus?" Lily questioned from the kitchen down the hall, "I'll have the soup done in a bit!"

"Okay," the two chorused from the couch.

"Well, if I'm so obvious, why doesn't she see it?" Remus questioned, arms over his chest as he looked up at James, who turned thoughtful.

"You've been mad for her since before you got to know her, right?" James waited for his nod of approval. "Then how would she know you aren't like that around everybody?"

Remus was eerily silent, processing his comment, and James waited patiently. "Surely she knows it's just her. I don't act like that around - around…"

"- Around my lovely fiancé and your lesbian coworker?" James quirked a grin as the realization slowly dawned on him.

"Shiiiiit," Remus groaned, sinking lower and lower into the couch cushions. "Oh my God."

"What's Remus panicking over?" Lily questioned, dully entering the room as she screwed the lid onto the Muggle thermos.

"He just realized he needs to be more obvious around Hermione for her to notice he fancies her," James supplied helpfully as Remus continued a low groan.

Lily blinked before snorting, "I don't see how he could be any more obvious, honestly. I'm surprised she hasn't realized how lovestruck he is."

"And how does she know that's not how he normally is?" James questioned her.

Lily opened her mouth to respond, before her brow furrowed and she took to gaping. "Oh my God."

James looked smugly at the both of them, settling back into the couch. "See? And we call you two the smart ones."

* * *

Lily and Remus brought soup to Hermione, who'd been asleep on the couch when they'd arrived, a hovering Draco flicking his way through a medical textbook, and Harry quietly leading them into the kitchen.

"Thanks," Harry said, taking the thermos from Lily and setting it on the counter before he reclined back against it. "Draco's taking care of the potions part, but we were at a loss on what to feed her."

"No worries," Lily said with a smile as she hopped onto the countertop across from him. "We're just here to make sure you two had it covered."

Harry snorted, rolling his eyes with a grin, "Barely, but yeah."

"Is she feeling any better since Lily brought her home?" Remus asked, quietly. He could hear Hermione's sighs in her sleep, and Draco turning the pages of his book, just down the hall.

"Her fever's gone, we gave her a Pepper-Up when she got home," Harry hummed, scratching his chin. "Draco's looking for a potion for the flu, which he's sure is what she's got, but he's been searching that one textbook for hours."

"Might try Healer Hestia's Herbal Remedies," Lily offered. "I remember the healer at Hogwarts using that one the most often."

Harry tilted his head, humming as he thought before smiling and nodding, "I'll make the suggestion to him, then. She should be better in a few days regardless, tomorrow at the earliest."

Lily hopped down from the counter, and Remus lead the way back down the hall.

"Issat Lily and Remus?" Hermione asked in a whisper, blinking rapidly against the light as she sat up from the couch, the two halting once she did.

"Yup!" Lily said, sitting down on one side of her and giving her a squeezing hug as Remus leaned against the doorway, noticing that Draco had looked up from his book to regard him carefully. "We didn't want to wake you, we thought you needed the sleep."

"I've been off and on for the past few days, you're fine," Hermione reassured, giving a couple of coughs into a fist before smiling between the two of them, "Thanks for stopping by anyways, I just hope I'm not contagious."

"We're fine," Remus reassured gently with a smile, "My immune systems good 'til the few days before the full moon, and Lily takes her vitamins and supplements almost religiously."

"I keep telling you, Vitamin C does wonders," the redhead huffed. "You wouldn't get so sick before the full moon if you took some regularly."

"Vitamin C sounds lovely right now," Hermione hummed thoughtfully, reclining back against the cushions.

"I'm not going to the drugstore for you again," Draco vowed with a frown.

"Last time was different," Harry defended. "We're talking vitamins now."

"I don't care," Draco huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head to Lily. "It was embarrassing."

"The cashier didn't care, I promise you!" Hermione insisted with a sigh.

"I cared!" he insisted.

"Aww, poor Draco," Harry gave a laugh, "Having to grab tampons for my sister while I was gone. However will you recover from such trauma?"

Hermione chunked a throw pillow at Harry, Lily laughing once it hit him in the face. "You prat! We don't talk about things like that in front of company!"

Remus chuckled at Harry's outraged yet flabbergasted expression, hiding his laughs behind a hand while Lily rocked back into the couch to cackle. "They're your friends! Surely they're aware you have a menstrual cycle?"

Hermione flushed a bright red, standing wobbly from her nest in the couch and moving to the doorway, Remus scooting to let her pass by as she avoided eye contact. "I'm going to bed, and I won't be coming out til the next millenia."

"Be sure to take your soup with you then," Remus insisted, ruffling up her hair and smiling when she turned to the kitchen instead of the staircase. "I'm going back to work!" he called down the hall.

"Thank you for coming! Sorry my brother's a prat!" she called back.

"He didn't say anything we weren't already assuming," he said, laughing when he heard her scoff under her breath. "Get better soon so we can all hang out again!"

"I won't," she said as she poked her head out of the kitchen, a small pout still on her face as he grinned back at her, "I'll stay sick forever out of pure spite."

"Good-bye, Hermione, get better soon," he repeated, smiling when she huffed and grinned.

"Good-bye, Remus, I'll see you soon," she echoed, disappearing back into the kitchen as he waved goodbye to Lily, Harry and Draco, the latter of which looking almost like the cat who'd gotten the cream.

Remus returned to Fergus, who was closing his segment up perfectly, checking his notes before clicking the appropriate dials and buttons, then turning to Remus worriedly.

"Hey, I hope ye don't mind, but me wife's messaged me - our son is sick," Fergus said, offering Remus the note. He glanced over it, frowning when he saw how worried Fergus's wife was and the mention of St. Mungo's. "He's a small thing, Mungo's was worried when he was born - s'it alright if I go?"

"Yeah, I've got you covered," Remus reassured, smiling when Fergus gave a sigh of relief and stood.

"I'll close myself one night proper, promise," he swore as he reclaimed his jacket.

"Don't worry about it, worry about your family, mate," Remus insisted, shooing him towards the door as he sat down in the chair and donned a headset. "Keep me posted, alright? Let us know if you need anything."

"I will, thank you, Remus!" he sighed, heading out the door and being sure to shut it quietly.

Remus continued with the broadcast, setting up the songs that would play once he went home and before Tilly came in, stilling once he heard the shop door opening.

"Ah, Mister Lupin," a familiar voice said, and Remus turned and released a sigh as he saw Albus Dumbledore standing there. "I do hope I'm not intruding?"

"Never, professor," Remus said, standing and moving past the headmaster to lock the door. "Although, I wouldn't call this normal visiting hours. Something wrong?"

He'd joined the Order of the Phoenix the same time Lily, James and Sirius had, fresh out of Hogwarts and eager to help in any way possible. He'd gone on a few raids with the other members, but other than that and countless amounts of meetings, he hadn't been there as much as he'd thought he would.

"Nothing wrong, per say," Dumbledore said, looking around as Remus reclined against the wall. He kept an ear out for the song's end, and noticed that it was one of the ones with an infomercial attached. He had plenty of time. "I must say, this shop has cleaned up nicely."

Remus nodded, taking stock of the shop. "Elara's worked on it day in and day out. I'd say it looks just like it did, but she'd only take offense. It's loads better than it was."

Dumbledore hummed, letting the silence sit before he turned back to Remus. "I was wondering if you would be available for a mission for the Order?"

Remus blinked before shrugging lightly. "Sure, what is it? Another raid?" Sirius or James almost always went with him on one of those, so he'd have someone his age to talk to. Although once he'd gotten paired up with Frank Longbottom, who was an alright bloke and just a year or two older.

"Something more, I'm afraid," Dumbledore said with a sigh. He had an unreadable expression on his face, and Remus wondered what could be causing it. "The Order needs more information on Fenrir Greyback."

Remus stilled, a hand going to a faded mark on his left bicep. Remus absolutely hated the other werewolf, not just because of how he'd turned Remus, but of what that decision had done to his family. His mother had been forced to see her only son go through indescribable pain every month for his entire childhood, and had been witness to just what the Wizarding world thought of werewolves every time she was exposed to it. His father had blamed Remus's condition entirely on himself, and so their relationship was strained at best because of it. So, yeah, Remus had plenty of reasons to hate Greyback. "I've told you everything I know on him, and given you all of my dad's notes. I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not sure I…."

"He's been acquiring a pack, I've heard," he continued softly.

Remus exhaled quietly, his head hanging as he got the picture. They would need someone in the pack, to learn what Greyback was doing for You-Know-Who and to pick up on where the other werewolves stood. It wasn't uncommon for werewolves to break apart from their original pack and create their own, especially with a pack leader as bad as Greyback. Having one Alpha under Voldemort's command was bad enough, they certainly didn't need any more popping up.

"How long?" Remus whispered. He'd have to lose his job, for one.

"It's undecided," Dumbledore answered.

"As long as it takes, then?" He wouldn't be able to see his friends. He wasn't even sure he could tell them what he was doing, they would either be trying to stop him or trying to help him.

"So it seems."

Remus exhaled again, a bit more forcefully this time, and rubbed the heel of his palms into his eyes. He might have to sell his house, or put it in one of his friends' names, but he couldn't do that if they didn't know what was going on. He'd have to tell his dad, his only surviving family, because he didn't want him catching wind of Remus joining Greyback and getting the wrong idea.

He was all in until he thought of Hermione, and her cheeky promise of seeing him soon. He couldn't imagine where to even begin with Hermione. Tell her he was leaving, but he might be back eventually, and it would be very nice if she didn't date anyone in the meantime? Not tell her anything, have her be pissed at him? Or worse, hurt that he hadn't talked to her at all about it? She wasn't even in the Order, he couldn't explain what he was doing to her.

Then he thought of how much he just didn't want to leave Hermione. He liked being around her, being close to her. It even made the wolf a little bit pleased to have her around when he was feeling antsy, but it wasn't as if he ever made a point to take the wolf's feelings into consideration.

"I'm sorry, sir, but…" he couldn't believe he was saying this. Yet, there were far too many reason that Remus should turn the offer down to ignore, the most glaring of which being that there would be no way Fenrir Greyback would allow Remus Lupin into his pack without some serious injury.

Dumbledore regarded him thoughtfully, even as Remus stared resolutely down at his shoes and trying to find the right thing to say. "It was a foolish thing to ask, in any case. I shouldn't have put you in the position to begin with, and for that I am sorry. Alastor insisted we try, and we decided upon the phrase of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.'"

"It's alright, sir," Remus said, shifting uneasily. He wasn't used to people with authority apologizing to him.

"If I may," Dumbledore began, quietly. "Is there, perhaps, a particular reason, beyond the obvious?"

Remus faltered.

"A person?" he tried again.

Remus looked back up at him, and found that the bright blue eyes were twinkling at him over the half-moon spectacles.

"Ahh," Dumbledore smiled. "Then, perhaps, it is for the best."

"Sir?" he blinked.

"I have the personal theory, that Voldemort can only be defeated by love," he said sagely, before straightening and giving a slight nod. "I'll let you get back to your work, Remus. Thank you for your time, and I hope you have a far better evening."

"Thank you, sir, you too," he said as he unlocked the door and allowed the aged wizard out, locking it back and making a perplexed, huffing noise out into the empty room.

Speaking to Dumbledore was often confusing, and left Remus feeling like he missed something. This time was no exception.

He remained confused as he closed out the broadcast, set the songs up to play for the rest of the night, and hurried home.

He doubted his decision over and over again, wondering if staying for a girl was even a good reason, or one that would ever have anything come out of it. He should've gone, maybe he would've gotten more information and the war would be over quicker because of it. Hadn't that been the whole reason he'd joined the Order?

He paused on his way to his bedroom, blinking at the tiny paper swan, soundlessly honking at him and flapping it's paper wings to grab his attention from it's perch on an end table he normally reserved for random odds and ends that had wound their way into his pockets. He strode over to it, letting it hop into his palm before unfolding it, taking a second or two to place the handwriting. Once he did, he found a soft smile growing as he read on.

Turns out napping for most of the day means you stay up later than anticipated, who knew? Thanks for keeping me company this evening. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Spinner Station is my favorite radio station to listen to. Not that I'm biased, or anything.

Love,

Hermione

Remus found that he no longer doubted his decision, and instead was looking forward to the day he inquired as to just how biased she was towards him. He settled the note back on the end table, smoothing it out, and went on to get ready for bed.


	6. Chapter 6

The days seem to fly by and mush all together, especially once the holiday season was in full swing. Their daily lunches came to a screeching halt as each one was constantly called in, Hermione and Remus with their places at Ficklewhick's and Lily's at the apothecary in Diagon Alley. The amount of staff working each day nearly doubled, as there needed to be ample people working the till and helping customers at the bookshop, and at least one person on air and another on the till at the radio station. The only time Remus really got to see Hermione was when he was walking with her to the Apparation point at the end of their closing shifts, and the two were so exhausted that neither could keep up a decent conversation.

The holiday rush blissfully came and went, and Remus was glad to see it go with the promise of a long break ahead of him.

"You've earned it," Elara insisted to him, Tilly, Fergus and Alix - a young person who Remus never really worked with, but they seemed to prefer Tilly over him anyway - the day before Christmas. "I've got the songs set to play until January 2nd, and not a minute more."

"Hey, no complaints from this crowd," Tilly said, tired mumbles sounding out from the lot of them.

Elara chuckled, walking with them towards the door as coats and scarves and mittens were donned. "Thank you all so much for your hard work. I'll be looking into seasonal help for next year, don't you worry."

"That sounds wonderful, thanks, Elara!" Alix said, wrapping their scarf around their neck a few times.

The door opened as everyone thanked Elara and wished her a happy Christmas, the four stepping out into the cold night.

"You coming, Remus?" Alix asked as the three started for the Apparation point.

"Nah," Tilly, Fergus and Remus chorused, and he glared at the two for their grins.

"He's got to walk Hermione, make sure she gets home alright," Fergus supplied simply, without all of the teasing Tilly normally did. "Used to do that for ma wife, ye know. She did a stint on Knockturn, so I was there every night. Was happy to see her quit the place."

"Such gentlemen, you two are," Tilly quipped, although she gave Remus a hug around his neck, stretching on her tiptoes to do so. "Be safe, give Hermione my love, and happy Christmas to the both of you."

"Happy Christmas Tills, Fergus," he said before nodding to Alix, "You too, Alix."

"You too, Remus," Alix responded, the three trudging up to the Apparation point and fighting against the snow.

Remus made his way down the lane, taking note that most of the other shops and stores had gotten to close up early. The only shop open was the bookstore, the lights casting a golden glow against the fallen snow. He paused near the door, looking in and seeing Hermione perched atop a ladder, a few of her coworkers sorting the rest of the floor. One, Jack, saw him settle against the brick wall, and opened the door to poked his head out.

"Come on in," Jack said with a sigh as he opened the door wider, "We're going to be a while."

"That bad?" Remus questioned.

"We've got to resort everything," the other man responded as Remus entered, quirking a grin when he recognized Spinner Station music playing loudly on the radio on the front counter. "Customers trashed the place, and someone shoved all these copies of some wanker's new book into different categories. We think it's someone's attempt at marketing. I've found sixteen so far, one of which was in cooking."

"Is it a good book, at least?" Remus questioned as he hopped over the counter and sat on a stool by one of the registers.

"The wanker goes into a vampire infested forest in Romania to hunt down the vampires attacking humans, but in the front of it he looks like - like some Sean Connery, James Bond bullshit, trampling through the woods." Jack huffed before sighing, "If I never see another book with the name Gilderoy Lockhart emblazoned across it, then the world still has some dignity left to it."

Remus chuckled as Jack got back to work, hunting down more of the fiendish novels as he reclined against the counter with a yawn. The radio was winding down a bit, the next song getting ready to play, when one of the girls spoke up.

"Hermione, can we change the station?" she all but whined, leaning against her broom as another girl snorted.

"Of course not, we can only listen to her boyfriend's station," she answered snottily.

Hermione exhaled roughly, shoving a book into its place rather harshly, as Jack's eyes widened and he turned to look at Remus. It appeared that the radio had drowned out the sounds of Remus's entrance, and none of the girls - who were further into the store - had noticed.

"Leave her alone, he's not her boyfriend," a woman named Sally, one of the managers, insisted with a frown, her hands settling on her hips. "Being honest, all of us prefer Spinner Station over any other radio station we get here anyway."

"They always play Muggle music, and I don't understand how anyone can listen to that," the second girl pouted.

"Yeah, it's too...too…" the first girl said as she made a face of distaste.

"Too good for the likes of you?" Hermione cooed to those down below her, scoffing and rolling her eyes as they protested. "Muggle music is what gives way to Wizarding music, I'll have you know. Celestina Warbeck was directly inspired by many of the Muggle musicians, which you would know if you had picked up her autobiography."

"Which we have," Jack supplied as he moved towards them, arms laden with books on the Lockhart wanker.

"Besides - I love that they play Muggle music," she defended as she turned on the ladder, arms crossed as she frowned down at them. "I happen to know that Remus does a great job picking the Muggle songs, as they're all popular ones rather than - "

"Oh, Remus, Remus, Remus," the first girl griped with a groan, sweeping harshly with her broom as Hermione turned to glare down at her. "There's other men out in the world, Hermione, and they all don't have scars and - OW!"

Hermione had taken one of the heavier books she'd just put up and tossed it down to her, only grazing her, which Hermione seemed upset about as she slipped down the ladder gracefully.

"You want to talk to me about scars, Morgana?" Hermione glowered, advancing towards her with a glare as Sally carefully wedged herself between the two, putting a comforting hand against Hermione's shoulder. She offered her arm, and Remus knew exactly what she was showing to the girl. "Look at this and see how you feel about scars now!"

"Let's cool off," Sally insisted soothingly, Morgana and the second girl gaping at the word against Hermione's skin. "I think you're about done for tonight, Hermione, we'll see you day after Boxing Day. Alright?"

Hermione sighed, knowing a dismissal when she saw one, and nodded, fixing her sleeve.

"And you," the woman said, turning to Morgana with a harsh glare. "I'll be speaking to. I'm sure Mister Morren would like a word as well. We take care of our own here at Ficklewhicks Village, and you'll take care to remember that."

Jack cleared his throat, and Remus quietly moved to the door, opening and shutting it soundly and giving a bright smile when everyone turned to look at him.

"Hi, hope I'm not intruding, it just got cold outside and I didn't want to get stuck to the pavement," Remus said as Hermione flushed and made her way towards him, head bowed as she tried to stop shaking.

"Of course not," Sally said with a smile, turning towards him, "You're always welcome here, Remus." Morgana and the girl moved towards the back, speaking in soft whispers that Remus purposefully tuned out.

"Ready to go?" he asked Hermione as she grabbed her coat and put it on, hands still jittery although she tried to hide them in her coat pockets.

"Mmhmm," she responded before calling over her shoulder, "Bye, Sally, Jack. Thanks."

"Any time," Sally answered.

"Happy Christmas, you two," Jack called.

"Happy Christmas," Remus and Hermione chorused as they stepped out into the snow.

"Alright," Hermione said once the door was shut, looking up at him through her dark lashes. "How much of that did you hear?"

"What are you talking about, Hermione?" he asked innocently.

She scoffed with a grin, crossing her arms over her chest. "You've got great hearing, you've once said, and there was no snow on you when you supposedly came in." She glanced up at the sky, where tiny snowflakes were drifting down to join its friends among the ground, then looked to him pointedly.

He opened his mouth, letting it hang there for a few seconds as he thought about lying, before continuing, "Whenever she asked to change the station."

Hermione sighed, more of her hair falling out of its careful updo as she turned and started up the path.

"Hey," Remus softly called, catching up to her easily and halting her progress. "Thank you. You didn't have to stick up for me."

"Of course I did, Remus," she said, looking to her hands as he pushed her hair back and behind her ears.

He huffed, his hands moving to cup her face, making her look up at him as he stared. He searched her gaze for something before speaking lowly, knowing she'd hear him because of how close they were. "You...you are the most amazing person I've ever met." She flushed, and made to tip her head down to avoid his gaze, but he held her where she was. "I...one day, I promise, I'll make sure you believe that."

Hermione stayed where she was, and Remus wasn't sure why he wasn't moving either. Both seemed to want to stay in that moment, the moment where they weren't sure what was going to happen next. She was close enough to kiss, which he certainly thought about, but this wasn't the way he wanted them to remember it. After she'd fought with a coworker in his defense, a conversation circling around scars that had less than pleasant origins. No, if he - when he was going to kiss her, because he wanted to at least just the once in his lifetime, he wanted the moment leading up to it to be something to remember for all of the right reasons.

So he gently released her, took a half step back, and both remembered how to breathe almost simultaneously.

"R-right," she stammered, and flushed, and Remus couldn't remember what he'd said before that.

"Let's get out of the cold," he said, and they walked on to the Apparation point in silence, both stuck in their thoughts until Remus decided to break the plaintive silence. "So - you work after Boxing Day?"

"Yeah," she sighed tiredly, stuffing her hands deep into her coat pockets. "They're having a sale from then 'til New Year's Eve, trying to clear out old stock to make way for new."

"Hmm," Remus hummed, already making mental plans to walk with her after her shifts anyways.

"What about you?" she asked, a few of her curls blowing in the breeze.

"Off til the second," he grinned, and he laughed at her jealous huff. "I'll walk with you, though."

"You don't have to, especially not if you're off," she insisted. "I can make Draco get off his arse and come get me."

"I like walking with you," he said simply, and he watched her blush in the darkness as they neared the Apparation point. "You coming to the New Years' party? Lily would be crushed if you didn't."

She heaved a heavy sigh, and rolled her eyes, "I'll be going, Harry and Draco won't. I imagine they'll be celebrating the New Years' and my absence, but if anyone else asks it's because they have 'romantic' plans set to ring in the new year." Remus coughed a laugh into his fist, catching her grin. "Well, thanks for the walk, but I can't stand another second in the cold."

"I'll see you day after Boxing Day," he said, looking at her pointedly as she wrinkled her nose and smiled at him.

"See you then, I suppose," she barked a laugh, getting ready to twist and Disapparate. "Happy Christmas, Remus."

"Happy Christmas, Hermione," he smiled, watching her go before heading home himself.

Remus awoke to a few presents at the foot of his bed, smiling as he sat up and saw them sitting in the pool of sunlight.

Sirius had gotten him a new jacket, because his old one had been looking a little worse for the wear, and Remus appreciated that Sirius took note of what he actually needed.

James had gotten him new vinyls of artists he loved, and a note that he'd enlisted Lily's help in procuring them, because Padfoot had been a prat and told him to do it himself.

Lily had given him nearly a pound of chocolate, a new sweater, and a book on seduction he'd scoffed and sputtered at.

His dad had sent him a family photo album, with a note attached saying he'd been going through the things in the attic and thought Remus might've liked to have it. He'd set it off to the side, deciding to dedicate more time to it later.

He'd been surprised to have been left with two more parcels, and blinked at the tag that had said 'Harry + Draco.' Out of curiosity, because he wasn't very close with either of them, he opened it first.

It was a tiny chest with different runes carved into it, and he'd have to dig through his old Ancient Runes textbook to decipher them, but inside were a collection of different tea bags and a note.

"Remus - hoping this holiday finds you well. - Draco"

"Remus - Sorry about Draco, he doesn't know how to do the emotional part of the holidays. Happy Christmas! Hermione said you liked tea! - Harry"

Remus hummed, sifting through the bags and letting all of the different scents waft towards him before shutting the tiny chest, realizing that once it was shut he could no longer smell the tea inside. He turned it over, and saw an even tinier note in place.

"Thought the smell would drive you nuts. - Draco"

He gave a laugh, noting that the runes must have been to keep everything inside the tiny chest - even the smell - from getting outside the chest.

He turned to the final gift, taking his time to open the note and smiling when he caught the familiar smell of old parchment and vanilla.

"Remus - Happy Christmas. I'm so glad I've met you and Lily and gotten to know the both of you, well enough to call you one of my closest friends. I hope you enjoy your present - but if not, rest assured that you won't hurt my feelings in returning it. I happen to know the shop owner, but then again so do you. Love, Hermione."

Curious, he ripped open the wrapping paper, gaping at the gift nestled in the cardboard box. It was a thick, leather bound journal, a couple of new guitar picks poking out of the sides, and a box of Muggle ink pens. It wasn't much, he knew, but it seemed to mean the world to him. He hadn't played or mentioned his own music since he'd met her, but she remembered that part of him and took care to show her support of that side of his interests. He carefully opened the journal, careful to not bend or break the spine, and saw the inside cover. Hermione had written, in her careful hand, "Where words fail, music speaks."

He pressed his face into his hands and gave a muffled scream, bemoaning the fact that he'd found a rather simple necklace at a street vendor's place for her present, and wishing he could turn back time to find something different, something more, for her gift.

He no longer regretted his gift decision when he saw her wearing it, the day after Boxing Day, and she beamed at him once she saw him and was quick to wrap her arms around him in a hug.

"It's gorgeous, thank you," she said as he tugged her into his chest just a little tighter. "However did you find a moonstone this time of year?"

"Moonstone?" he blinked, pulling back a bit to look at her curiously, peering down at the little stone inset in a bit of silver and stuck on the simplest silver chain he'd ever seen. "That's a moonstone? I thought those were orange?"

"Some are," she smiled, holding it up for him to see in the orange lamplight as the stone swung back and forth a bit. "Some look almost like opals, like this one, but less...well, opals have flecks of different colors, moonstones just seem to have a gradient."

"Huh," he hummed, refocusing on her beaming grin and eager eyes and smiling before he scooped her back up into his arms, easily lifting her off of the ground and hugging tightly as she laughed. "Thank you for the journal. And the pens. And the picks. Where did you find the picks?"

"Muggle music shop," she muffled into his coat once he let her back down onto her feet, "I got you the thicker ones, I hope you don't mind, I'm afraid I don't know much about guitars or guitar picks."

"Mind?" he scoffed, reluctantly releasing her. "Of course I don't mind. I'm in desperate need of those buggers - I'm constantly losing mine, maybe now I won't since you got them for me."

Hermione flushed, but gave a blinding smile back at him as they set off down the path.


	7. Chapter 7

Remus, somehow, had been enlisted to help James and Sirius set up for their New Year's Eve party, and had found himself trying to set up a Muggle radio inside Godric's Hollow.

"I asked Lily and she said it's because the house doesn't have any lectri-siddy," James said as he watched Remus work, sitting in the floor behind the end table they had the radio on, wand out and trying to get things to work properly.

"Electricity," Remus corrected before giving a laugh, "Does make things more difficult, but I should have things set up in a few."

"Good, 'cause I think Lily's tired of greeting everyone," Sirius mentioned dully, making no move to help the redhead with the task of greeting all the people he and James had invited.

"You could help, Pads," James pointed out.

"Yeeaah," Sirius sounded out, although he didn't move from his leaning position against the wall, near where Remus was. "Can you get it to play AC/DC at midnight? Thunderstruck, preferably."

"You're following a Muggle station, Pads, I can't get them to do anything," Remus laughed, spending maybe an hour or so getting the radio to perform wirelessly and snorting when James and Sirius both let out cheers, getting the other guests to cheer as well. He stood, shaking his hair out of his face and putting his wand back in his pocket. "Like I said, you're just going to have to deal with whatever songs they...they, uhh….give you…."

"Remus?" Sirius questioned, looking curiously at his friend as he stared straight ahead of him, gaping slightly.

"Oh, Hermione's here," James remarked casually, following Remus's line of sight to where Hermione had stepped in, Lily chattering away and taking her coat to reveal a burgundy colored sleeveless dress that skimmed her knees, her hair up high and her moonstone necklace still wrapped around her neck.

"Should've known," Sirius snorted as Remus tried to clear his thoughts and refocus on the party around him. "Well, off you go, Romeo."

"Don't call me that," Remus insisted.

"Oh, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?" Sirius continued, following behind him as Remus tried to get away from him.

"You know that means 'why,' right?" Remus said with a heavy frown. He watched as Lily dragged Hermione off to mingle, and gave a sigh as he watched her go.

"Darn," Sirius monotoned behind him. "It's not like you could go up to her and say hi, or anything."

"It's not...well, I…." Remus faltered. He didn't know why he was nervous. She'd always been pretty, but seeing her dressed up and wearing the necklace he'd gotten her seemed to be doing things to the nerves settling in the pit of his stomach.

Sirius scoffed at him and wandered back off into the crowd, the party in full swing, when two girls encased an arm each.

"Remus!" Marlene McKinnon crowed, shiny black hair swaying around her as she practically crashed into him. "Kiss me at midnight!"

"No, Remus!" Emmeline Vance insisted, her brunette locks braided around the crown of her head as she tugged on his other arm. "Kiss me instead!"

Remus couldn't help but laugh - ever since sixth year, the two girls had been actively avoiding ruining their 'friendship' by acting on the feelings they had for the other, and instead made it a point to kiss one of the Marauders either under the mistletoe, or on New Year's Eve. They often made it a game of whoever could snag Remus first, because Sirius's ego always got inflated whenever he was asked for a kiss.

"Sorry, girls, 'fraid I can't this year," he said as he tried to escape their grasp, but this made them grip onto his sleeves tighter.

"What!?" they complained together, and he found himself incapable of motion as they seemed to keep him planted in that one spot. No matter how inconvenient that spot was, because he was mere steps away from the doorway, and people were squeezing past them to get through. "Why not!?"

"Well, I'm rather keen on kissing another girl, you see," he said with a blush, still trying to tug himself away from them and finding it futile. Damn, they were strong.

"Who?" Marlene all but pouted up at him, her eyebrows furrowing. "All of the other girls in our year are engaged or married."

"Is she pretty?" Emmeline asked instead, blue eyes glittering at him. "Oh, is she?"

"_Very_," he grinned back, Emmeline beaming up at him before throwing her arms around his neck and wrapping him in a hug.

"Well then what are we to do?" Marlene asked, hands on her hips as Remus laughed at Emmeline's exuberance. "One of us is going to get stuck with Sirius, and the other isn't going to get kissed at midnight."

"Somehow, that's not my problem," he grinned, tugging Emmeline's arms from his neck and laughing at Marlene's playful glare. "Oh, come on, Marley, I'm sure you'll figure something out."

"Tell me what she's like," Emmeline insisted, ignoring her counterpart and their conversation completely now.

"I could go on all night, but I'd really like to go find her instead," he said, and that seemed to release him from their clutches as he saluted, wished them luck in their quest, and wound around the throngs of people squeezed into Lily and James's home.

"Lily!" he said, finding the redhead overseeing the small bar set in their dining room. "Where's Hermione?"

She paused, her hand freezing on the neck of a wine bottle, and stared at him. "I thought she was with you?"

"No?" he blinked back, scratching at the back of his neck. "Emmeline and Marlene got a hold of me, I haven't even said hello to her yet."

Lily hummed, handing the wine bottle off to Frank Longbottom, who gave Remus a grin and a pat on the back as he left. "I'm not sure, then. I heard the back door shut not too long ago, maybe there? I can imagine this might be a bit overwhelming for her."

Remus nodded, as a majority of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws from their year were all encased in the ground floor of the house, which wasn't small by any means but certainly wasn't the size meant to hold this many people. If they weren't a bunch of witches and wizards, he'd be worried about going over the building occupancy.

He moved to the kitchen after making sure she didn't need his help, where there were less people, and paused outside the screen door, hearing Sirius's voice clear as day.

" - that's just Emmeline and Marlene, they have this thing between them, I wouldn't worry about them too much," Sirius chattered, and Remus paused with his hand on the handle, listening intently. "Remus is...well, he wouldn't hurt you, not on purpose."

"It's not that," Hermione admitted, and her voice was a little muffled, like she was speaking into her hands. "I feel silly for coming here. I only really know Lily and Remus, and I hate feeling like I'm...well, like I'm bothering them."

"Nonsense," Sirius scoffed, "I doubt they'd invite you, and so insistently, if you were a bother, and besides - James and I like you too, even if we don't see you as much as them."

Hermione hummed, falling silent, and Remus took that chance to open the back door and look between them with a soft smile.

"There you are, I've been looking for you," he said, speaking to Hermione as Sirius stood from the step, where he'd been sitting beside her, and dusted off the seat of his pants.

"Take my seat, I'm going back in," he said, shooting a wink to Hermione as he left with a merry hum.

"What was that about?" Remus asked as he sat beside her, watching as she grimaced and looked out to the falling snow, grateful for the warming charms that had been cast on the back porch.

"Just...thinking about going home," she said, almost wistfully as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Absolutely not," Remus stated plainly, smiling when she blinked back at him. "I've only just gotten to see you, I believe I need at least twenty more minutes. Maybe thirty, but we'll play it by ear."

Hermione huffed a tiny laugh, smiling back at him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently tugged her into his side. "Thanks. By the way, I know you heard that. With Sirius?"

"_Pssht_, no idea what you're talking about," he lied, and he knew she caught on as she looked up at him pointedly. He grinned, and she scoffed before leaning into him. "Have I mentioned you look absolutely gorgeous, by the way? You know it's terribly rude to upstage everyone else at the party you attend, but I suppose you get a pass. You can hardly help it, anyway."

She shoved at his side, intending to escape, but he wrapped the other arm around her and tugged her in close as she snorted and laughed, "Shut up, you liar."

"I'm not lying," he insisted with a grin, noting that she had a bit of gold glitter on her eyelids and rather liking the Gryffindor color scheme on her. "You look beautiful."

She blushed, blinking up at him, and then thumped her forehead against his chest. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" he asked, loosening his hold on her, although she seemed content to remain in his grasp.

"Just…" she sighed, sagging into him further and shaking her head. "I don't know."

"Smart," he said softly, brushing her hair off of the back of her neck and taking in a sharp breath of air at the feeling of something shifting in the air once again. "If you do want me to stop something, just let me know, okay?"

She nodded, but pressed into him a little bit more, giving a slight hum when he wrapped his arms around her and settled his chin on the top of her head, content to watch the snow fall with her. They remained that way for longer than either probably intended, Remus leaning against one of the posts for the porch and tracing nonsense patterns against her back as they sat in silence, where he idly wondered if Hermione could hear his heartbeat. He prodded her into standing once he noticed her shiver, and saw that the warming charms were beginning to dwindle away.

"Come on, inside," he gently said, opening the back door and leading her into the party, where to their surprise everyone was just counting down for the new year.

"Five! Four! Three! Two!" Remus blinked back at her, trying to make a quick decision on if _this _was the time to kiss her, but he watched Lily run up to her other side and saw James's hands in front of his face before he was tugged into the other man.

"One! _Happy New Year!"_ James nearly broke Remus's spine as he made his friend bend to his height, dropping a loud kiss to his cheek as Lily did the same, albeit much gentler, to Hermione.

"Why'd you do that?" Hermione questioned amongst the cheers, laughing at her friend as she wrapped an arm around her and grinned. "I thought you would kiss each other?"

"We'll be kissing each other for the rest of our lives," James mentioned, slinging an arm around Remus's shoulders as the werewolf prodded his cheek and feared bruising. "Consider it our last freedom smooch."

"So you go after Moony?" Sirius laughed, hands in his pockets as he joined his friends.

"Lily wanted Hermione," James shrugged as he adjusted his glasses, the two girls giggling and hugging each other.

"Who'd you kiss, Sirius?" Hermione asked.

"Nobody," he smiled.

"What about Marlene and Emmeline?" Remus asked, blinking at him curiously.

Sirius hummed and peered around the corner of a doorway, taking a moment or two to scan the room before leaning back into the kitchen with them. "Still kissing, it seems."

Lily gasped and hugged Hermione tighter, "Finally! Been waiting for ages for that one."

The group helped sort out the clean up and wishing farewell to the departing guests, everything going smoothly until Hermione tried to ask Lily where she wanted her cleaned plates.

"How long has Lily been in the toilet?" she asked, standing outside the door in the hall.

"She's been running back and forth all night, dunno what's up with her," James explained, fluffing up his hair and making it look rather haphazard.

Hermione paused, passing the dishes off to Sirius as he complained, and knocked against the door. "Lily? It's Hermione, I'm coming in." She quickly disappeared into the bathroom, the boys blinking between each other before the door opened once again, and Hermione was leading a pale Lily to the kitchen.

"It's probably a stomach bug, or food poisoning," the redhead said, even as Hermione led her to sit at the breakfast bar and took to inspecting the different cupboards. James went to make his fiance a cup of tea, everyone watching as Hermione dragged out certain vials and ingredients and took to making a quick potion.

"Hermione?" Remus asked, because he could recognize some of the ingredients, but couldn't tell what she was making.

She hummed in response, measuring everything carefully before pouring it into a shot glass.

"What're you making?" James asked for him, but she didn't answer and merely smiled before setting the glass in front of Lily.

"Swish and spit," Hermione instructed, grabbing a kitchen timer in the shape of a chicken from the windowsill above the sink.

Lily's face reddened, and she glared at her friend. "_No,_" she said vehemently. "There's no way, so I'm not doing it."

"You're doing it," Hermione said, her tone brooking no room for argument. She held the chicken timer up threateningly, and Lily glared before tossing the liquid into her mouth, swishing it around, and spitting it back into the shot glass.

Sirius gave a wicked grin and hummed as he put the plates away. Hermione took the glass and set it in one of the overhead cabinets, shutting the door as the little chicken ticked away.

"What's that for?" James questioned.

"So Lily doesn't lose her mind watching it change colors," Hermione answered, hopping up onto the counter by the cabinet.

"What is it?" Remus asked again.

"Pregnancy test," Hermione and Sirius chorused, and Remus blinked before turning to James, who was opening and closing his mouth before slowly sliding into the seat next to Lily.

"Oh," he murmured.

After a moment of silence, Sirius opened the cabinet to hum and shut the door. He leaned beside Hermione, who was frowning at him, and hummed some more, even as he smiled mysteriously at the lot of them.

"How much longer on that thing?" Lily asked, tapping her fingers against the countertop.

Hermione took her hand, and held onto it as she regarded the chicken. "About a minute."

Everyone waited the eternity for the chicken to ding, and held their breath as Hermione opened the cabinet and regarded the potion. She set the glass back in front of Lily and James, and hopped off of the counter.

It had gone from a slightly grey-ish blue to a bright, vibrant pink, and Lily placed a hand over her mouth before hiding her face into her hands.

"What's that mean?" James asked slowly, almost as if he had a mouth full of cotton.

Hermione remained silent, as did Sirius. Remus had never encountered a pregnancy potion before, so he didn't feel as if he could answer. "I'm pregnant," Lily answered, and James took maybe three seconds to process that information before he grinned, beaming at her as he wrapped her up and in his arms, twirling her around the kitchen as they laughed together.

"Congrats," Sirius said, smiling proudly at the two of them as they tried to keep their happy tears from spilling over.

"Wow," Remus whispered, smiling at them as well.

"And you were calling that poor baby a stomach bug," Hermione teased, coughing when Lily wrapped her up in a hug by her neck. Hermione laughed, and patted her friend's hair as Lily sniffled into her shoulder. "Congratulations, Lily, James, I'm so happy for the both of you."

Sirius, Remus and Hermione stayed for twenty minutes longer, making promises to celebrate the good news properly when they weren't all getting tired, and the three took to walking down the lane together to Apparate safely, out of sight of the Muggles.

"When d'you think they - ? Halloween, I'm guessing," Sirius mused, Hermione scoffing on the other side of Remus and twisting to look at the other man.

"I hardly think that's something you should be focusing on, right now," she insisted dully.

"Halloween," Sirius decided, ignoring her completely as Remus chuckled at the both of them.

He stilled almost immediately, smelling something in the air that...well, set him on edge. He didn't have a lot of clues to decide as to what it could be, but it seemed familiar, which certainly didn't bode well. He placed a hand on the back of Hermione's neck, guiding her in between him and Sirius, and switched hands to keep one there. Hermione and Sirius both stopped talking, watching his face worriedly as he listened.

After a few moments, with all of them having a hand on their wands, the smell was gone with a faint pop, and he moved his hand from her neck to her other shoulder, tugging her just a smidge closer to him as they continued walking.

"What was it?" Sirius asked.

"Dunno," Remus hummed, eyebrows furrowed. "Smelled familiar, but I can't put my finger on it."

"Bad familiar?" Sirius asked, before he straightened further. "Should we tell Lily and James?"

Remus pressed his lips together, looking back down at Hermione, before nodding. "You let them know, I'll get Hermione home."

"I'll be fine," she insisted.

Sirius arched an eyebrow, and looked to Remus, who was pressing his lips together once again, before he spoke. "Take Remus with you."

"I'll be alright, I can take care of myself," she pressed.

"Hermione, I don't want you getting hurt, especially if _I'm_ not sure what that was," Remus said.

She grimaced, sighing before speaking bluntly. "I don't want to be going home right now, because Draco or Harry were supposed to send a Patronus saying that it was...err, _safe_ to go home."

Remus held it together for maybe six seconds before he burst into laughter, doubling over as Sirius looked on in concern.

"Safe? What do you mean, safe?" he asked, more than likely worried for his friend and fellow Auror.

"Sock on the doorknob, that sort of thing," Hermione pointed out, smiling as she shook her head fondly at Remus, who was still chuckling to himself and trying to get it together.

Sirius's eyebrows shot up, and he looked like he thought about laughing at the absurdity of it too, before he swallowed it and simply smiled. "Fair enough, then."

"You can wait for the Patronus with us," Remus said once he'd calmed down enough, coughing into a fist and sharing a nod with Sirius. "Sirius and I normally hang out after the New Year's party anyways. James used to come too, but now he's got Lily."

"Take her to yours, I'll meet up with you after I grab James and Lily's attention," Sirius instructed, going back down the path as Remus urged her onwards.

"Is he safe, by himself?" Hermione wondered.

"Yeah, he's fine," Remus answered as he listened to Sirius's two footsteps turn into four paws padding down the cobblestones. They made it to the Apparation point, offering an arm and twisting to land at his home.


	8. Chapter 8

Remus's home was a simple cabin, making full moons a bit easier without having to worry about neighbors, and he had a meager set of living room furniture for whenever James and Sirius were over. Hermione took off her coat as she looked around, inspecting the books lining the bookshelves on either side of the fireplace.

"Want me to take that?" Remus asked, smiling when she passed over her coat and hung it up with his own. "You want anything to drink?"

"Tea, if that's alright," she answered, turning to look at him with a smile. It was then that he realized that it was the first time she'd ever been in his house, and his brain was having a meltdown over that simple fact and the way she was illuminated by the light from the fire, cast in a warm, golden glow that did nothing for his poor heart.

"I've got a lot," he said, nodding towards the kitchen so she followed, standing near his side as he pulled out his different teas and handing them to her. She paused at the tiny chest, regarding the runes, and giving a small smile.

"I didn't realize this is what Draco was giving you," she said, setting the others aside and carefully opening it to dig through the teas there.

"Oh, yeah, him and Harry got that for me for Christmas - I feel a bit guilty, seeing as I hadn't gotten them anything," he admitted, leaning against his oven and wincing when one of the dials for the stove stabbed him in the hip.

"Harry might've gotten you the tea, but Draco got you the chest," Hermione said, matter-of-factly, tilting so he could see the runes. "He put a little extra emphasis on the curl in this containment rune, see? He's always done that, ever since we were younger. Most people would see a blob and leave it as that, Draco takes time the time to carve out what he knows is there."

"You seem a bit back and forth on Draco," Remus pointed out casually.

Hermione hummed, regarding the tiny chest in her palm. "Well, Draco has done a lot of good for Harry. He's sacrificed a lot just for him, and yet never complains, and constantly tries to make Harry the best he can be. Our personal history isn't the best, but I think we can agree that we just want to see Harry happy."

"He seems to look out for you, too," he said before sheepishly laughing, "I actually thought you were dating him, the first time I met him."

Hermione snorted, clapping a hand over her mouth at how harsh it had sounded, and Remus couldn't help but laugh. "It's just - sorry - but he and I...no, we would never... We'd likely kill each other if we didn't have Harry." She set the chest of tea back into its place in the cupboard, and hummed. "Although, I do see what you mean. About looking out for me - I rather do the same for him, and everyone I'm ever close to. I have a tendency to mother hen."

"Is that what we're calling friendship nowadays?" he asked in amusement, hopping onto the counter after scooting some of the boxes of tea bags or jars of loose tea leaves over. The dial for the oven was beginning to irritate him.

"It's a bit much, I've been told," she sighed, digging through the boxes and smelling each one before even reading the label. He took note, and gave a small smile. "Rather bossy, if I'm right."

"Nonsense," Remus scoffed, and she gave him a disbelieving look over a box of Earl Grey. "Anyone who thinks you're bossy _clearly_ hasn't met Sirius. Now there's somebody who's bossy with the best of intentions."

"Rude!" Sirius crowed, having just entered from the Floo and moving to hang his jacket up. "Name one time, Moony!"

"I can name _several_, you wanker," he said as Sirius entered the kitchen, already swatting Sirius's hand from the tea cabinet. "I just got this organized, don't you dare touch it! Besides, Hermione's the actual guest here, let her go first."

"Ohh, am I?" She asked, teasingly, grinning up at Remus as Sirius wedged an arm between them to dig for his tea. "What makes me so special?"

Sirius snorted, and Remus jabbed his knee into his ribs, glaring at his laughter as he snagged his tea bag - how he enjoyed ginger root tea plain he'd never know, but he kept it for him anyway.

"It's your first time over, thereby all normal guest privileges remain," Remus instructed, leaning to watch Sirius rifle through his kitchen cupboards. "Grab me one too, Pads?"

"Oh, _I'm_ sorry," Sirius said as he grabbed two mugs, shifting them in his arms to reach for a third, "I thought I was a wanker?"

"How often do I need to be over for you to call me a wanker?" Hermione hummed, and Sirius choked on his tongue as Remus sent a glare at him over her head. She finally decided on the Earl Grey, and worked on replacing everything neatly where she'd found it.

"Once a month," Sirius answered instead, offering her a mug to which she accepted with a smile. "Once you help the wolf on a regular basis, you get called all sorts of names."

"How on Earth do you help a wolf during a full moon?" Hermione blinked, right as Remus sucked in a lungful of air and held it.

Sirius seemed unperturbed by his apparent slip up, and waved his wand at the kettle to have it float over to the sink, fill up with water, and then float back to the stove. "James and I are unregistered Animagi. Animaguses?"

"Animagi," Hermione corrected with a blink, setting the mug on the counter and blinking at Sirius. "So you and James - ?"

"Turn into animals to help Remus not rip off an arm during the full moon? Yeah," he answered calmly. "James is a stag, I'm a dog."

"Padfoot and Prongs," she hummed. Sirius did a mouth click and a wink as he grinned. She turned to Remus and tilted her head. "However did you think of that?"

"_I_ didn't, I'm strongly against it all," he insisted, finally releasing that breath he'd been holding. "They got the brilliant idea at - was it fourteen or fifteen?"

"Fifteen I think," Sirius hummed thoughtfully, "Most of our brilliant ideas were at fifteen."

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes. Remus grinned as he continued, "They saw what the full moons were doing to me, the more stressed I got as I got older, and wanted to help."

"You shown her the scars on your chest?" Sirius asked, moving as if he were going to casually lift up Remus's shirt for her to see, although Remus jerked himself back quickly.

"_No I have not shown her the ones on my chest, Sirius_ \- "

" - Anyway," Sirius continued on, although Hermione's eyes were wide as she took in Remus's blush. "He's got _huge_, and I mean massive scars on his chest from about fifth year, Madame Pomfrey - Mediwitch at Hogwarts - said he'd have bled out if she weren't there to look after him."

"How do you -?" Remus spluttered.

"We asked," Sirius shrugged, offering his mug to the floating tea kettle. "We got worried, seeing those."

"So you saw he was hurting himself more and more each full moon, and decided to go through the incredibly difficult and lengthy process to become Animagi, _illegally_, at fifteen?" Hermione summed up, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms over her chest, blinking across the small space back at Sirius.

Sirius blew the steam off from his mug, taking two seconds to think her statement over before coolly saying, "Yeah."

"Alright," she shrugged, and Remus turned to look at her as if she'd grown a second head. "What?"

"That is _weird_, not to mention _illegal,_ and you're totally fine with it?" Remus asked. If he were an octave or two higher than normal, nobody mentioned it.

"I've heard of worse," she murmured, inspecting the steeping process of her tea.

"Where?" Sirius asked sharply.

She sipped at her tea, avoiding eye contact, although Remus was inching closer and closer to her as he inspected her.

"What'd you do?" He questioned.

She sniffed, and still avoided his gaze. "I've no idea what you could mean."

"_Hermione_," he smirked, leaning more into her personal space. "What'd you do?"

"Eye for an eye, cough it up," Sirius instructed, hopping up onto the counter across from them.

She grimaced, and looked into her mug before sighing. "I made Polyjuice Potion. In a bathroom. At the age of twelve. Because somebody was spreading rumors about Harry, and we wanted to get to the bottom of it."

"Wicked!" Sirius bellowed, beaming back at her as she pursed her lips.

"_And_?" Remus pressed teasingly. He's only joking, but they both knew he knows her too well to know she isn't sharing all of it.

She sighed again, running a hand through her hair and letting it tumble down around her shoulders. "_And_ \- and neither of you are to dare repeat this - I'd accidentally gotten cat hair in it, and the results involved me having to see a Mediwitch."

"Oh Hermione," Remus chuckled, trying to hide it behind his hand before she turned her head to him sharply.

"I was twelve and made a perfect Polyjuice Potion!"

"In your bathroom! I'm assuming at home?" She pressed her lips again, and he couldn't help but grin. "You know, there's lab cleanliness for a reason?"

"Shut up, you prat," she huffed, pinching his knee, and he still laughed.

They'd moved their chat to the living room, Sirius sprawled across an armchair with limbs akimbo, Hermione and Remus sharing the couch but at either ends. They mentioned James and Lily, and how Sirius had poked his head in to warn them of what had occurred during their walk. Sirius had mentioned going back to Godric's Hollow sometime in the week to strengthen the wards, and Remus offered his help.

During their chat, which Hermione began to ease herself out of, the lot became more and more drowsy, and Remus looked over with a start to see Hermione curled in on herself, asleep on the couch cushion, shoes in the floor and sleeping soundly.

"She moved about twenty minutes ago, and fell asleep right after," Sirius mentioned, and Remus looked up to see that his bemused gaze was focused on him.

"She's had to work up until tonight, I'm sure she's exhausted," Remus pointed out, and Sirius gave a small hum and a knowing look. Bracing himself for it, he sighed and set his long empty mug on the coffee table in front of him. "What?"

"It's just - " Sirius set his own mug on the table, sitting on the edge of his seat and speaking quietly, knowing Remus would hear him but Hermione would remain undisturbed. "It's nice. Watching you with her." Remus blinked - that hadn't been the conversation he'd been expecting. "I know you're keen to take your time, and I certainly don't blame you, but...I don't know. You seem happier, since you've met her."

Remus frowned, glancing to Hermione, and thought back. It was hard to remember what life had been like without her, and he recalled with a grimace that he'd been in a slump. He'd wake up, occasionally meet Lily for lunch, since James and Sirius were off at Auror training, go to work, and then go back home. Once a month he'd become a wolf for a night, and that did absolutely nothing good for his mental state. Since knowing Hermione, he did tend to have a more positive outlook on things. Not necessarily saying that he was a cheery person now, but he did notice he had more reasons to smile.

"Well…" Remus said lamely, and found that he wasn't sure what to say.

Sirius relaxed back in the chair, and casually crossed one leg over the other. "What do you think about Lily and James? Pregnant?"

Remus ran a hand through his hair and relaxed, glad to see that Sirius was shifting the conversation from him. "It's wild, isn't it? Prongs having a kid?"

"Prongs having a kid with _Lily_," Sirius barked a quiet laugh, mindful of their sleeping companion. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"Thought we'd all be single forever," Remus scoffed.

Sirius's grey eyes twinkled, and he glanced to Hermione pointedly. Remus blushed, and gave a small glare. "And how things have changed." He grinned, smiling wider when Remus merely rolled his eyes, and said conversationally, "I like her. And I like her for you."

Remus sighed, hanging his head with a groan before lifting it and shooting Sirius a soft smile. Sirius may have often badgered or poked or bothered Remus for various reasons, but it was always because he wanted to see Remus happy. Sirius returned the smile, glancing over Hermione once more, and then dropped it.

"Hate she's been through some shit though," he murmured, and Remus sighed as well, looking over her form and seeing that horrible scar on her arm. His gaze traced over her face, and he was pleased to note that she was sleeping soundly, looking far more calm and peaceful than she normally was when awake. During the day, she normally seemed to be thinking and worrying over a million different things. He liked seeing her at ease. "Has she told you what happened?"

Remus winced - since that night at the hospital, and aside from baring them to her coworkers in his defense, she'd not mentioned her scars. He still kept the ring in his possession, often fiddling with it when he couldn't sleep well to see if he could at least remove some of the enchantments. So far he'd had absolutely no luck. "She's told me she'll tell me one day, but…"

"Harry too," Sirius huffed, rolling his eyes and setting his chin in a hand. "I badgered him the day he came back after all of that, and he'd only promised I'd know later."

Remus gave a yawn, relaxing back into the corner of the couch and crossing his arms over his chest. "Cryptic as fuck, isn't it?"

"Draco's a hard one to figure out too," Sirius said, echoing Remus's yawn with one of his own. "Harry loves him, don't get me wrong, but I dunno. I think he's hiding something."

"I think we all are," Remus mused, thinking to all of his own secrets he was carrying. He often hid that he was a werewolf for as long as possible, and a wizard when he was with Muggles. He was secretly a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and was keeping the secret of his friends being unregistered Animagi for his sake.

He hummed, thinking deeply, and looked back to Sirius to see that he was now asleep as well. He gave an amused scoff, looking between his two sleeping friends, and settled down to sleep as well.

He, as well as Sirius and Hermione, awoke with a start when a silver stag cantered around the living room in the wee hours of the morning, daylight breaking way to a new day and a new year.

"_I AM SOOO SORRY, HERMIONE, REALLY, I AM, I WASN'T THINKING, I FELL ASLEEP - "_

"_Jesus Fuck, Harry,"_ Hermione cursed, sitting bolt upright with her hair billowing about her shoulders, a hand clasped to her chest as Remus jolted awake as well.

"That asshole," Sirius grumbled, burrowed into the corner of the armchair and flipping the patronus off, as if it would've done something.

"Morning person, isn't he?" Remus said as he rubbed at an eye and yawned.

"Massive prick is what he is," Hermione grumbled, shakily taking a hand off of her heart and sighing. She stood, patting her pockets for her wand and easily slipping on her shoes. "Well - I'm off to bed."

"Me too," Sirius said, although he remained stationary. Hermione and Remus watched him carefully for a moment or two before he let out a soft snore.

"See you tomorrow," Remus said as he yawned, standing and ruffling up his hair. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as a farewell hug, and was pleasantly surprised when she held on for a moment longer, wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Thanks for last night," she said with a smile.

He smiled sleepily back at her, "Which part?"

She paused, setting her chin on his chest, and softened her smile. "All of it."

Remus blinked at her, and for the first time realized that things were properly changing between them. He'd thought they had been for a while, but had believed he'd been far too optimistic about it all. He opened his mouth to maybe change it into a definable state, rather than the limbo between friends and "something more" they were currently at, when Sirius gave a massive snort and sat up with a start.

"This ain't my bed," he grumbled, glaring at the two as Hermione retracted herself from Remus.

She rolled her eyes, giving a quick laugh, and Disapparated with a pop. Sirius left not soon after, grumbling and mumbling and a massive grump when he was so tired.

Remus got a few hours of uneventful sleep in his bed, only awaking later in the day when the sky was beginning to turn dark. He'd decided that food was probably something he should ingest, and took to making a quick meal of fried eggs and toast. It was as he was cleaning that he remembered that Hermione had left her coat with him, and he quietly took it to Apparate to the little Muggle village her, Harry and Draco lived in.

He walked down the path quietly, nearing their house and knocking on the front door. He waited for a moment or two, trying not to let nerves settle in the pit of his stomach, because why would he have to be nervous? He was merely dropping off a coat. Absolutely nothing else going on there. Simply being a kind friend.

Harry opened the door, smiling once he saw it was Remus and immediately opening the door wider so he could enter.

"Hey, Remus," he said as he let the other man inside. "What brings you around?"

"Hermione left her coat at my place, just wanted to bring it back," Remus answered.

Harry blinked, eyebrows furrowing as Draco appeared from the living room, his face unreadable although his eyes were trained on Harry before flicking just the once to Remus. "She was at your place?"

Remus realized how awful that must have sounded, and to her _brother_, but Draco saved him with a scoff.

"She'd have to have gone _somewhere_ if she hadn't gotten home until dawn," Draco snorted, rolling his eyes as he reclined against the wall in the hallway. "I imagine Lily and James weren't keen to babysit your sister while they're a couple themselves."

"Err - sorry, wasn't thinking," Harry mumbled, a nice scarlet shade as he scratched the back of his neck. James often did the same thing, especially when he was embarrassed over something he'd said or done. Remus smiled at the comparison, and placed his hands in his pockets, her coat still slung over his arm.

"It's alright - I feel bad though, I feel as though Sirius and I might've kept her awake with our conversation," Remus said, intentionally slipping in enough context clues so Harry would have no doubt in his mind that Hermione's unplanned sleepover had been nothing but platonic.

"Sirius can talk quite a lot," Harry agreed, smiling back at him.

Draco nudged his head up to the staircase, "You can go on and put that in her room if you'd like. She's either asleep or cleaning - just knock."

"Oh, uhh, alright," he blinked. He'd never been to the second story of their house, let alone in Hermione's bedroom. He felt the nerves trying to settle in his stomach again, and quickly tried to ignore them as forcefully as he could.

He ascended the stairs, Harry and Draco's voices moving into the kitchen, and he listened to them talk about Quidditch for a moment or two before carrying on his way. The Falmouth Falcons were doing horribly this season, apparently.

He came to the small landing, seeing one door opened on his left that carried on to a darkened bathroom. The door to his right was shut, but light was gently spilling out from underneath. He could hear soft music as he neared it, and paused with his hand ready to knock when he heard someone singing.

It was soft, and quiet, and barely noticeable, but the only reason he had was because it was _his song._ The one he'd played at the bar so long ago, staring out across the crowd and catching sight of the young woman who'd become one of his closest friends in a matter of months. He hadn't even thought about that song until now, until he was hearing the melody and the lyrics out of someone else's mouth, but he recalled a whisper of Hermione's voice saying "_You sang at the bar last Friday! It was so good, tell me, did you write that or is it off of the radio that I haven't paid enough attention to?"_ Yet she always listened to Spinner Station and practically knew the song list better than Tilly did.

He felt his chest close up, his breath coming in short puffs of air, and the door seemed to tilt as his vision got funny. Had she...but no, he'd… well maybe just….

Knowing that he was about to spiral down a path of insanity and many questions, Remus settled the coat on the bannister railing, walked down the stairs, and let himself out of the front door. He then walked down the path, Apparated home, and laid in bed for the rest of the day, staring aimlessly at nothing as his head swam.


End file.
